Chuseok Brings Starkly Divergent Assessments of Public Sentiment: Ruling Party Says "A Warm Holiday," Opposition Says "Suffering Amid High Prices"

[Financial News] On Chuseok Day on the 25th, the ruling and opposition parties delivered holiday greetings but expressed contrasting views on livelihood issues. The Democratic Party of Korea thanked those working during the holiday and emphasized that it would reduce the burden of grocery costs, while the People Power Party criticized the government's administration, citing high prices and controversies over personnel appointments.
In a written briefing that day, Democratic Party spokesperson Shin Hyun-young said, "I extend my deep respect and gratitude to everyone who puts family gatherings and rest aside for a while to keep our society's daily life running."
Shin mentioned workers in national defense, public safety, firefighting, health care, transportation, distribution and logistics, and other fields who remain at work during the holiday. She emphasized, "So that gratitude does not end with mere greetings, the safety, fair compensation and sufficient rest of everyone working during the holiday must be respected."
Regarding holiday prices, she explained that the burden of preparing the ancestral rites table had fallen 2.3% from the previous year through the government's discount support for agricultural, livestock and fishery products. Shin said, "This Chuseok, the government and the Democratic Party will ease, even if only a little, the burden of a plate of fruit, a fish and the holiday meal around which families sit together," adding that they would address shortcomings so people could feel the results in their daily lives.
By contrast, the People Power Party criticized the government, saying high prices and the economic downturn had increased the public's burden during the holiday.
In a commentary that day, chief People Power Party spokesperson Park Chung-kwon said, "Although Chuseok, the nation's biggest holiday, has arrived, the hearts of people facing ancestral rites tables are heavier than ever," claiming, "With seemingly endless high prices and an economic downturn, ordinary people's livelihoods have been driven to the brink, and the sighs of neighborhood businesses are growing deeper by the day."
He criticized the government for consistently displaying "arrogance" and "a lack of communication" while relegating people's livelihoods to the background. He also continued his criticism of the government's overall governance, citing recent controversies over personnel appointments and the so-called "power-behind-the-throne controversy."
Park said, "Faced with the grim reality that politics, which should wipe away the people's tears, has instead become their greatest source of concern, I bow my head and offer my deepest apology," adding, "The People Power Party will restore fairness and common sense."
He pledged to check the government's unilateral administration and work to formulate policies to overcome the livelihood crisis, while wishing the public a peaceful holiday in which they could share warmth with their families and neighbors.
[email protected] Choi Seung-han Reporter