The scale of forced liquidation in the first half of this year reached 3.1525 trillion won. [AI-generated image]

U.S. political columnist Gene Cummings has criticized Lee Jae-myung, stating, "He has decided to impoverish the public to drag South Korea toward a government-dependent society similar to a communist state." 

On the 19th, via Facebook, Gene Cummings stated, "While the Lee Jae-myung administration recently touts stock market gains as a policy achievement, young people who jumped into leveraged investments—so-called 'debt-financed investing'—and high-risk financial products are losing vast sums of money amid extreme market volatility, falling into debt, and facing bankruptcy."

He further remarked, "Despite this, many have blindly followed this politician as if he were a cult leader, and are ultimately paying the price with their own wealth and lives," urging the public to wake up and see reality clearly.

In Cummings' view, the Lee Jae-myung administration bears clear responsibility for the collapse of the younger generation amidst the stock market plunge and real estate market instability. This is because they have intervened everywhere, ignoring the autonomous flow of the market, and have recklessly spent national budgets as if they were their own personal funds. 

According to Cummings, "Lee Jae-myung is not building a society where citizens form wealth on their own and live independently of the government, but rather a nation where they can only survive by relying on government handouts." He added, "The first step in transforming a country into a communist system is to destroy the citizens' assets and strip them of their ability to live independently, forcing them to rely on government-distributed money."

He also sharpened his tone, stating, "Citizens must wake up now and realize that being made to wait for government rations and benefits instead of living off one's own labor and property is the path toward the distribution system of a communist state."

According to him, "What they call economic stimulus or support for the working class is, in reality, a dictatorial atrocity where the government sprays money haphazardly and intervenes in the market like a bully, completely trampling the normal price system. They keep real estate assets tied up with regulations and try to manage individual assets, while inciting the public to believe the stock market is an escape route to wealth. Even high-ranking financial officials have trivialized the risks by calling debt-financed investments 'leveraged investments,' effectively pushing citizens toward the precipice."

Ultimately, his opinion is that the end for the "devotees" who have been blinded by Lee Jae-myung is already set: "a miserable and catastrophic bankruptcy."

He further pointed out that now that the situation has reached this point, the Lee Jae-myung administration is calling for the state to step in and forgive the debts incurred by the public, noting, "The money to forgive these astronomical debts is money forcibly collected from the wallets of honest citizens who work hard and pay taxes."

Gene Cummings asks:

"If there were someone around you who does no work, spends government handouts on gambling, and ends up in debt, would you accept it if the government took the taxes your family worked hard to pay and used them to pay off such people's debts?"

He raised his voice, stating, "No normal person would agree to the government forcing them to share the money they earned through their own efforts and hard work with someone who is lazy and does no work."

Furthermore, he fiercely criticized Lee, saying, "As a pseudo-dictator, Lee Jae-myung acts as if the taxpayers' money is his own, putting on a show as a 'competent leader' who can solve the public's debt problems by grandstanding about 'paying it off for you.'"

He added, "Lee Jae-myung promoted the stock market during the election as a new path for citizens to become rich, and high-ranking financial officials spoke lightly of debt-financed investments. While they boasted about stock price increases as government achievements, they now take no responsibility for the losses suffered by the people who believed them and took on debt, instead stepping forward and saying, 'We'll forgive your debt.'" 

Gene Cummings argued, "While framed as forgiving the debts of good, unfortunate people, the idea that the government will forgive the debts of those who owe money is something only a person with a mental illness would propose." He claimed, "The purpose of this bizarre logic—pushing citizens to the brink of bankruptcy and then secretly forgiving the debt with national funds—is singular: only then will citizens, having lost their independence, remain leashed to the absolute ruler, with no choice but to depend on him for their livelihood."

He questioned, "Why haven't the people realized yet that this method of encouraging debt, ignoring bankruptcy, and taming the public like slaves with the bait of distribution and relief is the chilling tactic of a 'false savior' that Lee Jae-myung is stepping forward with, one step at a time, to consume the Republic of Korea and become a communist dictator?"

He further pointed out that "the public, blinded by fear and madness that they would become destitute if they didn't jump on the bandwagon right now, took on debt and jumped in like moths to a flame," and that the results are appearing in actual figures as follows:

"In the first half of this year, the scale of forced liquidation (a system where securities firms forcibly sell stocks without the investor's consent when the investor fails to repay money owed to the firm by a set deadline: Editor's Note) reached 3.1525 trillion won, and 142.2 billion won of forced liquidation occurred on July 9th alone. The scale of 'debt-financed investment,' combining credit transactions and securities-collateralized loans, reached a daily average of 61.9 trillion won in the second quarter, the highest ever."

Cummings expressed concern that this figure means the assets of citizens who were deceived by the government's rosy propaganda and market frenzy into investing with borrowed money are actually being forcibly sold off, and that once forced liquidation begins, the dumped stock triggers further price drops, leading to more forced liquidations.

He also pointed out, "Young people and commoners who jumped in late, piling loan upon loan without any capital, cannot afford the principal and interest the moment the bubble bursts, forcing them to sell their homes and stocks at the lowest prices. Even when experiencing the same crash, the wealthy survive and buy back assets at lower prices, while the common people lose their property and are left with only debt, driven onto the streets."

He reminded the public, "We must remember why communist economies have historically perished in a miserable fashion. Once a government controlled by swindlers—not an autonomous market—starts dictating the direction of prices, production, and investment, capital flows only into pro-government industries and companies that support the political power or align with the regime's interests."

In other words, companies colluding with power are never forced to exit the market even if they fail miserably in their business, as they are kept alive through taxpayer infusions and endlessly enjoy special favors.

Finally, Gene Cummings urged, "You must realize that being swept up in the irresponsible fraud and agitation of the Lee Jae-myung regime and following it blindly does not end with individual bankruptcy and ruin; it is dragging the entire Republic of Korea down the path to destruction."