Kim Hyung-nam, a former Seoul mayoral candidate who has declared his bid for a Supreme Council seat in the Democratic Party of Korea, has proposed an open debate among party leader and Supreme Council candidates on how to use the Future Response Fund financed by additional semiconductor tax revenue. With discussions on the Future Response Fund actively underway recently, the proposal aims to gather concrete ideas from each candidate.
On Sunday, Kim wrote on his Facebook that "President Lee Jae-myung recently laid out the principle that additional semiconductor tax revenue 'should be invested in a direction that grows the Republic of Korea's growth potential for future generations.'" He added, "Party leader and Supreme Council candidates are unanimously stressing the need to become a party friendly to young people in their 20s and 30s. This is a good opportunity to create a party convention where productive debate takes place over the nation's future."
Kim emphasized that "creating a Future Response Fund from additional tax revenue is a very important issue directly tied to the future of young people." He said, "According to the government, the fund will be used for bold investments for the Republic of Korea's future, including support for housing, startups, and jobs for people in their 20s and 30s, responses to polarization, and support for three mega-projects." He continued, "Establishing a new fund requires enacting a special law, and close cooperation from the party is essential. The party must also consider concrete measures and priorities."
Kim viewed the excess semiconductor tax revenue as needing to serve as a priming pump for labor reform and job policies to prepare for the artificial intelligence (AI) era. Kim explained, "To sustain growth, we must invest in people, and we must also upgrade the social safety net so that workers can withstand the income gap period when they transition jobs during industrial restructuring and innovation."
He added, "The time to provide answers is now, not in the distant future," and said, "I propose an 'open debate on how to use the Future Response Fund' to our party leader and Supreme Council candidates who have declared their bids."
