Rival candidates compete to issue pro-working class policy pledges

Rival presidential candidates on Sunday unveiled separate pro-ordinary people policy pledges to better appeal to voter sentiment ahead of the crucial Chuseok holiday that begins late this week.

Rep. Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party vowed to introduce a new concept in the home rental system to support financially distressed households, while Rep. Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) promised to further regulate retail giants to boost business for small merchants at traditional markets. Independent Ahn Cheol-soo convened a meeting of economic policy advisers and stressed economic reform and democratization as a means to create more jobs for ordinary people.

In a news conference, Park announced a policy vision for a new type of jeonse to help reduce financial burdens for working families. Jeonse refers to a unique Korean system in which renters give landlords a large returnable deposit instead of paying monthly rent. Renters have lately been frustrated being unable to catch up with rapid rises in their jeonse deposits.

Park's policy calls for freeing households with an annual income of less than 50 million won ($41,700) from the burdens of jeonse deposits. Instead, landlords are encouraged to obtain a loan to cover a rise in jeonse deposits, with renters making interest and commission payments to the lenders, she explained.

"Renters will not have to move to cheaper places even in the case of rises in jeonse deposits. Landlords cooperating in the new system will also be given tax incentives," Park said. She also vowed to increase the supply of low-priced housing by building high-rise apartments on sites above state-owned railroad areas.

Moon, who has rapidly caught up with Park and Ahn in various opinion polls, also disclosed new policy pledges against large-scale retailers during his visit to a traditional market in Mangwon-dong, western Seoul.

The DUP candidate said that if he were elected president, his government will introduce a permission system for retail giants' new outlets in order to tightly regulate their expansion, particularly in the neighborhoods of traditional markets.

"Large-scale retailers will not be permitted to open new stores if neighboring traditional markets are expected to suffer significant sales decreases," said Moon, accompanied by his wife Kim Jeong-suk. "Large retail chains may also be subject to more mandatory holidays and obliged to further reduce their opening hours and range of products."

In a similar visit to a traditional market in Suwon, south of Seoul, on Saturday, Ahn also said that the nation's traditional marketplaces should undergo sweeping reforms in preparation for the future.

As traditional market merchants complained about the inroads of large retailers, Ahn said, "The government has to more thoroughly supervise the market to ensure that the (ordinary) people are not bullied by the stronger and more powerful businesses. The next government will have to strive to restore a warm community, where everyone lives together happily."

"The clues to economic democratization can also be found by resolving the practices of unfair transactions involving large retailers and problems faced by traditional markets."

Ahn reiterated similar pledges while meeting with a group of his economic policy advisers in Seoul on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Park plans to hold a news conference at 9 a.m. Monday to apologize for the controversial legacy left behind by her father, the late President Park Chung-hee, as the issue has continued to hurt her campaign ahead of December's election, party officials said.

The 60-year-old candidate came under fire early this month after claiming there were "two verdicts" over the execution of eight pro-democracy activists in 1975 during her father's rule. The victims were cleared in 2007, after a court ruled they had been tortured into making false confessions about trying to rebuild a disbanded pro-communist group "Inhyeokdang," meaning People's Revolutionary Party, in violation of the anti-communist National Security Law.

Park also sparked controversy in July by saying her father made "the best choice in an unavoidable situation" in reference to the 1961 military coup in which he took power. (Yonhap)