Lee says S. Korea in 'growth lean season' left by previous administration, vows to prioritize recovery

President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday that South Korea is in what he called a "growth lean season" created by the previous administration, and that his government must focus on restoring economic growth — while insisting welfare has not been rolled back.

Lee made the remarks on X, formerly Twitter, that morning, sharing a newspaper editorial that called for the government to strengthen measures to ease polarization in next year's budget.

"If we fail to restore sustained growth and slide from zero growth into negative growth, polarization will worsen and welfare cuts could follow," Lee said.

He went on to say, "Abandoning growth while expanding welfare is out of the question, and expanding both growth and welfare simultaneously is ideal but unrealistic. I believe we have no choice but to focus on growth now and grow the pie."

Lee acknowledged the difficulty of satisfying everyone, saying his administration is working to expand welfare despite the constraints, and that it has even drawn criticism for what some call excessive welfare populism in the budget.

"It has only been a year," he added. "Please give us a little more time."