Lee Jun-seok pushes for government reform, youth welfare, reshoring

Korea Herald

12-05-2025

Rep. Lee Jun-seok, the presidential candidate of the minor conservative New Reform Party, unveiled a comprehensive set of policy pledges Monday, focusing on improving efficiency and sustainability across government, society and industry.
Central to Lee's platform is a plan to restructure the government by reducing the number of ministries from 19 to 13.
Specifically, Lee proposed merging the Foreign and Unification ministries, combining the Education and Science ministries, abolishing the Gender Equality Ministry and separating health affairs into an independent Health Ministry. Other ministries would be reshuffled to eliminate overlapping duties.
To decentralize presidential power, Lee pledged to establish three deputy prime minister posts, for security, strategy and social affairs, while abolishing the National Security Office under the presidential office. He also called for dismantling the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, which was created under the Moon Jae-in administration.
Lee proposed expanding local government autonomy. He pledged to convert 30 percent of national corporate tax revenue into local taxes and allow municipalities to set their own minimum wages based on local industrial conditions.
His social policy platform includes increased support for teachers. He proposed deploying dedicated lawyers for legal disputes and hiring assistant teachers focused on student behavior, funded within the current education office budget.
To address a declining pool of junior military leadership, Lee proposed shortening mandatory service periods for officer candidates and integrating basic training for all conscripts. Only top-performing trainees would advance to commissioned or noncommissioned roles.
Lee also laid out policies targeting scientific talent and young people.
He pledged a national pension for top scientists, including recipients of global awards such as the Nobel Prize and Fields Medal, as well as contributors to leading academic journals.
Lee promised a low-interest loan program for people aged 19 to 34, allowing borrowing of up to 5 million won ($3,600) per quarter with a lifetime cap of 50 million won. On pension reform, he proposed dividing the system into two separate tracks for seniors and younger workers.
In economic policy, Lee emphasized deregulation and reshoring. He proposed easing restrictions for companies returning from overseas and supporting foreign workers through a new visa system.
He additionally introduced a plan allowing companies to apply for regulatory exemptions by referencing international standards and pledged to extend the regulatory sandbox period from four to 10 years.
Lee Jun-seok's policy agenda, released Monday, omitted any mention of national security or foreign policy.