Translation result
[Herald Business (Busan) = Reporter Jeong Hyung-gi] Park Hyung-joon, the People Power Party candidate for Busan mayor, sharply criticized President Lee Jae-myung on May 24, after the dollar reached 1,515 KRW (approximately $1.14). He asked, “Where are you looking now?” and accused the administration of describing high exchange rates, high inflation and high interest rates as the “creaking of a leap” — treating crisis as success — a characterization he said reflects South Korea’s reality today.
On his Facebook page that day, Park noted, “In April 2024, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party warned of a ‘national economic crisis’ when the exchange rate topped 1,400 KRW (approximately $1.05). Last February he denounced that ‘citizens’ wealth fell by 7%.’ Yet the exchange rate, which was 1,395 KRW (approximately $1.05) when he assumed office, is now 8.6% higher than the 1,400 KRW (approximately $1.05) he himself labeled a ‘crisis.'”
Park added that the rate is more than 18% higher than the pandemic peak (1,286 KRW (approximately $0.96)) and that this level is the highest in 17 years since the 2009 financial crisis.
He pressed the administration: “The numbers have worsened — so why has the sense of crisis disappeared? Where did that urgency go when you were in opposition?” He warned that the exchange rate is not just a statistic but “our lives.” When the won weakens, he said, prices for gasoline, flour and instant noodles rise, and prospects for interest-rate cuts recede.
Citing statistics — roughly 1 million small-business closures annually, two-thirds of the self-employed earning less than 1,000,000 KRW per month (approximately $750), and card transactions after 9 p.m. down 40% compared with pre-COVID levels — Park argued, “While major currencies have strengthened against the dollar, only the won remains weak. That is the cold appraisal international financial markets have of the Korean economy.”
He challenged the Lee administration: “Are you focused on livelihoods or on elections?” Park accused the president of failing to defend the exchange rate and neglecting everyday economic relief, while fixating on daily social media offensives to influence the local election landscape.
“We will manage the elections ourselves,” Park said. “The president should defend the surging exchange rate and devote himself to safeguarding people’s livelihoods.”
He concluded, “We cannot trust or wait for a government that calls crisis ‘the cost of success.’ I will chart a course for Busan that puts citizens’ lives first.”
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