Song Eon-seok: "KOSPI at 5,000, but the real economy is deteriorating"

[Financial News] The People Power Party argued on the 23rd that the real economy is deteriorating, citing recent employment figures and declining growth rates in the construction and manufacturing industries. The party stressed that, regardless of rising stock prices such as the KOSPI heading toward 5,000, the ruling and opposition parties must work together to respond to the economic downturn.
Song Eon-seok, floor leader of the People Power Party, said at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that day, "President Lee Jae-myung's administration and the ruling party are praising themselves as if rising stock prices mean an economic recovery, but the employment situation that people actually feel is completely different."
Song continued, "They say the semiconductor industry is booming, but it has not led to an expansion of youth employment," adding, "Last year, the number of workers in the manufacturing industry fell by 11,000, the largest drop in the past five years."
He went on, "Employment among young people and those in their 40s is particularly serious. As of January, the number of employed young people decreased by 175,000 from a year earlier, and employment among people in their 40s also fell by about 3,000," noting, "The number of people who said they were 'just resting' reached 2,784,000, an increase of more than 110,000 in a year. That is more than the population of Daegu Metropolitan City and would rank around sixth among the 17 metropolitan and provincial regions nationwide." He added, "Looking only at young people, the figure is 469,000, up 35,000 from a year earlier," and warned, "This is a grave warning that economic vitality is weakening and even young people's willingness to work is being crushed."
Song said, "It is impossible to hide the cold reality of the job market behind a stock market rally driven by a handful of semiconductor-related stocks," and explained, "The construction industry and the manufacturing industry, the two main pillars of the real economy that support job creation, are in fact in recession."
He added, "Last year, the construction industry's growth rate recorded a sharp contraction of minus 9.6%, and the manufacturing industry, based on the fourth quarter of last year, slipped back into recession at minus 1.5%." He continued, "Some say it is fortunate that our annual economic growth rate reached 1.0% last year, but Japan posted 1.1%, meaning we were overtaken by Japan for the first time in 27 years."
Song said, "The Lee Jae-myung government boasts that the KOSPI has risen more than the Nikkei 225, but the real economy is flashing red," and added, "To revive youth employment and the real economy, we must normalize the construction industry, which accounts for a large share of real economic activity."
He suggested, "One option is to use public SOC (social overhead capital) projects as a primer to reinvigorate investment in the construction industry," and continued, "The People Power Party recently introduced an amendment to the National Finance Act to adjust the preliminary feasibility study criteria to reflect higher construction costs. Since there is no disagreement between the ruling and opposition parties on this, the Lee Jae-myung government and the ruling party should refrain from self-congratulatory promotion of rising stock prices and instead join us in substantive legislation to restore jobs that people can truly feel and to revive the real economy."
haeram@fnnews.com Lee Haeram Reporter