Behind the glittering slogans, the Lee Jae-myung administration's five-year plan is cast in the 'shadow of debt and voids.' Composite by Hanmi Ilbo

The "Five-Year Plan for State Affairs" unveiled by the Lee Jae-myung administration is a blueprint adorned with flashy language and numbers.

While the government defines itself as an "administration born of a revolution of light" and promises the restoration of democracy and the strengthening of popular sovereignty, the substance of these promises remains hollow. Electoral reform, the cornerstone of popular sovereignty, is not even mentioned.

Efforts to ensure the reliability of voting and counting, increase proportionality, and reorganize the party structure are fundamental to cementing democracy, yet they are nowhere to be found in the government’s plan. Ultimately, the slogan of strengthening popular sovereignty risks becoming nothing more than rhetorical decoration.

In the economic sector, the goals of "leaping into the top 3 AI powerhouses" and creating a "100 trillion won National Growth Fund" have garnered the most attention.

However, critics argue that these slogans mask a "debt feast." The plan to create a 100 trillion won fund by combining 50 trillion won in government-guaranteed bonds with 50 trillion won in private capital is destined to fall on the taxpayers if private participation proves uncertain.

In its August 19th article, the JoongAng Ilbo pointed out, "100 trillion won? Even if it were 1 quadrillion won, its feasibility is opaque." Compared to the reality where global big tech firms spend over 20 trillion won on AI infrastructure every quarter, Korea's fund is insufficient in both scale and strategy. It is a warning that the growth strategy put forth by the "government of light" may, in reality, be a "structure of debt."

The AI strategy reveals another contradiction.

The government has promised the world’s No. 1 AI administration and an "AI-based society," yet tasks such as protecting digital sovereignty and preventing hacking are missing. At the global AI summit held in Seoul last May, participating nations emphasized safety and transparency, and global corporations like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI joined agreements on safe development.

However, this plan lacks any reflection on AI algorithmic bias, the risks of utilizing large-scale personal data, or the side effects of a surveillance society. While administrative efficiency through AI may bring convenience to the public, it is a fatal omission that it could simultaneously threaten democratic rights.

The crisis of digital sovereignty and hacking risks hidden behind the slogans of the AI revolution. Composite by Hanmi Ilbo

There are also clear limitations in the administration's view of the international order.

The second Trump administration is strengthening its "MAGA (Make America Great Again)" stance, directly rejecting ESG and PC (political correctness) discourses. Republican-led state governments are moving to restrict ESG investments and repeal climate regulations.

Conversely, European and Asian nations continue to view ESG and carbon neutrality as global standards. While the Lee Jae-myung administration has presented "expanding ESG finance" and "international cooperation" as its policy pillars, these could incite friction with the U.S. As the Financial Times analyzed in July, "Companies may not want to easily abandon ESG, but the political pressure from MAGA will continue to intensify," and an analysis by Eurasia Review on July 24 warned, "If South Korea sticks to a globalist discourse, it will be one of the countries that bears the greatest burden under the strategic pressure of the Trump administration."

Ultimately, at a time when Korea cannot afford to delay its choices, it continues to repeat only "multilateralism and cooperation." An international strategy that ignores reality is destined to become a void.

Social policy covers everything from overcoming low birth rates and expanding care to pension reform and fostering a cultural powerhouse, but there is no mention of realistic funding.

The structural crises of a 0.72 total fertility rate, the highest elderly poverty rate in the OECD, and the No. 1 suicide rate cannot be solved simply by listing budget items. National debt has already exceeded 58% of GDP, and the population is aging rapidly. The promise to solve every problem is highly likely to result in an illusion.

In the field of foreign affairs and security, the administration emphasizes strengthening the ROK-U.S. alliance and a "peace economy," but lacks strategies for the harsh realities of U.S.-China tensions and the North Korean nuclear crisis.

In a situation where the U.S. is forcing allies to choose sides, repeating only "peace" and "cooperation" can lead to a strategic void. As pointed out by Eurasia Review on July 24, Korea faces a high risk of falling into a "gray zone" under U.S. pressure.

Public participation also remains merely formal.

The government boasted of receiving 1.8 million proposals through its "Everyone's Square" platform, but only 237 tasks were actually reflected. While the government shouts that the people are the masters, their voices have been treated as mere ornaments in the policy-making process.

In the end, the Lee Jae-myung administration's five-year plan is a shadow filled with debt and voids, rather than light.

It claimed to restore democracy but institutional reform has disappeared; it promised to be an AI powerhouse but left the public’s data rights neglected. Economic growth has relied on a debt structure sustained by taxes, and international strategy has remained a vacuum by ignoring reality. All that remains are slogans and promises.

What the people desire is not shining words, but a strategy born from cold-headed diagnosis and painful self-correction.

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