Lee Jun-seok, presidential candidate of the Reform Party, noted on the 18th regarding Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee Jae-myung's pledge for the transfer of private companies like HMM to Busan that it is a risk associated with Lee Jae-myung in the stock market. He agrees on the Democratic Party's push for amendments to the Commercial Act, which includes 'duty of loyalty to shareholders,' to resolve the Korea Discount (undervaluation of the domestic stock market), but he claims that the candidate's remarks on 'private company transfer' raise uncertainties in the stock market.

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea, is talking with Lee Jun-seok, the presidential candidate for the Reform Party, at the 45th anniversary memorial ceremony of the May 18 democratic movement held at the May 18 National Cemetery in Buk-gu, Gwangju on Nov. 18. /Courtesy of News1

On this day, during the first TV debate of the 21st presidential election organized by the National Election Broadcasting Debate Commission, Lee Jun-seok responded to a question from Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party about the feasibility of Lee Jae-myung's promise of a 'KOSPI 5000 era,' stating, 'I positively assess the Democratic Party's initiative to amend the Commercial Act. If the major shareholders are forced to spin off their assets, the general shareholders will suffer, and stock prices won't rise.' However, he also raised issues with the candidate's campaign remarks in Busan.

Lee Jun-seok stated, 'It is important to allow corporations to manage freely and enable companies to make judgments suitable for themselves,' but he also mentioned that 'Lee Jae-myung believes it will gain votes by coming down to Busan and saying that companies like HMM and SK Shipping, which are private corporations, will be temporarily transferred for the mere reason that privatization is imminent. I think that is the 'Lee Jae-myung risk' in the stock market.'

Earlier, Lee Jae-myung announced a pledge for the Busan region to transfer the headquarters of HMM, the largest shipping company in the country, to Busan. The Democratic Party of Korea's campaign committee is reviewing a plan to create a 'shipping cluster' in Busan by revising the Government Organization Act to transfer the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan, establishing a maritime court in Busan, and attracting small and medium-sized shipping companies such as SK Shipping and H-Line Shipping, along with the HMM headquarters.