▲ Data submitted by the Credit Counseling and Recovery Service to the office of People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jong-wook on the 5th showed that 27,864 people reapplied for debt restructuring between January and August this year. With the number of people who applied again after having debts forgiven in the past approaching 30,000, the figure already amounts to 82.6% of last year's total of 33,718 reapplicants. The prolonged slump in the livelihoods of low- and middle-income households is the main cause. But there is also considerable criticism that repeated debt restructuring fuels moral hazard and deepens the sense of unfairness felt by borrowers who repay in good faith. Rather than one-off debt forgiveness, what looks urgently needed is restructuring for small business owners and the self-employed, along with stronger support for their return to business.
▲ In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on the 5th, President Lee Jae-myung said prosecution reform "is not being pursued to create a political legacy for particular individuals," adding that "no one should attempt to use the pretext of prosecution reform to sway personnel decisions, or even specific investigations and indictments, for personal motives." The remarks are read as targeting hardliners in the broader pro-government camp who have objected to Kim Ji-yong, the nominee to become the first head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, calling him a prosecutor loyal to Yoon Suk-yeol. Within the governing camp, a dispute over "whose side are you on" is in full swing surrounding Kim's appointment. Having claimed that prosecution reform was meant to secure the political neutrality of investigative agencies, the pledge now appears to have been empty words.
