죽어가는 자영업자, 금융권도 국민 고통 나눠야

이병익 칼럼니스트 | 기사입력 2021/09/01 [09:39]

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필자의 주장과 발상이 자본주의에 반한다고 말할 수 있으나 자본주의도 국민이 살아야 지탱할 수 있는 것이다. 가게는 망하고 일자리는 없고 갚아야 할 돈은 많은 국민은 어떻게 살아야 할까... 가정이 파괴되고 극단적인 선택을 한다고 상상하면 정말 끔찍한 일이 아닐 수 없다. 내년 대선을 앞두고 각 대선 예비 후보들이 다양한 공약을 내고 있지만 이런 현실적인 문제를 제기하거나 우려하는 사람이 없다. 이 정부에서 당장 시행하지 못하면 어느 대선 후보가 선제적으로 필자의 주장에 공감하고 결단을 내려 줄 것인지 기대를 걸어본다.

 

*아래는 위 기사를 '구글 번역'으로 번역한 영문 기사의 [전문]이다. * Below is the [full text] of an English article translated from the above article as'Google Translate'.

 

The dying self-employed, the financial sector should share the pain of the people.

 

The coronavirus is killing the self-employed. Not only self-employed people but also low-income people are dying. Temporary part-time workers who lost their jobs are also dying. The entire nation is suffering, but the financial sector is still full of money. The people are the first financial sector, banks, savings banks, and second financial sector such as Capital. He is being strangled for private loans. The government may be aware of the reality that credit delinquencies increase and the vicious cycle of the domestic economy is repeated. If one does not know, it is a dereliction of duty, and if one does not know, it is a national obligation to protect the property and safety of the people. The Government must take special measures. 

 

Is the financial sector joining in sharing the pain at a time when everyone is suffering in the midst of national crisis? I don't think I'm doing anything that's going to cost me a penny, let alone participate. I have never heard that they shared the pain of the people, such as delaying the repayment of loans or lowering interest on loans. The people's financial debt is getting worse beyond their control. The government should disclose statistics on how many people take their lives due to debt. It is said that more people are under pressure and suffering from loans or dead bodies in the financial sector than in any other era. The financial sector should stop any act that puts pressure on the people who are delinquent on loans and allow them to defer repayment or make small payments to give them a chance to live.

 

Don't people have to live to pay off their debts? The financial sector itself will not be able to make this decision. Considering the behavior so far, it is unlikely that the government will take preemptive action. If the government is involved and makes recommendations to the financial sector, if not, it should take forced measures. It is not a disaster support issue. The government hopes to find out the countless number of people's pain in paying back principal and interest on a hundred times and a thousand times the amount. In the past, President Park Chung-hee has taken a landmark step to freeze private loans to companies and people suffering from private debt. The current interest rate in the financial sector varies widely depending on creditworthiness and security. Interest rates for people with weak credit, long-term credit card loans or secondary financial institutions are as high as those of private loans. 

 

The government should show its willingness to protect the lives of the people. It is necessary to understand the status of giving up life due to debt in the financial sector and protect them from extreme choices. Therefore, the government should crack down on the financial sector to prevent excessive pressure and increase the repayment period to give a break by paying back little by little. In the past, it should induce the financial sector to preemptively take measures to protect the public by giving the financial sector a strong warning that it may invoke measures such as the 8.3 bond freeze. It is against fairness to make money comfortably and stably in the financial sector when the entire nation is in a difficult situation. 

 

I warn political parties that promise to serve the common people only through words. I urge you to listen to my arguments if it is truly for the common people. It can be a measure of which party is truly for the common people. A government that can immediately implement policies that increase repayment periods and lower interest rates rather than throwing its life into debt will see a ray of light. The government should wake up to what policies are effective for the people in extreme situations. It will win the public's favor for a while with disaster aid such as mouse tears, but I hope that the financial sector will make a bigger and more clear decision. 

 

I can say that my arguments and ideas are against capitalism, but capitalism can also be supported only when the people live. How should the people live with a lot of money to pay back, no businesses, no jobs. It's a terrible thing to imagine a family being destroyed and making extreme choices. Ahead of next year's presidential election, each presidential candidate is making various pledges, but no one raises or concerns about such a realistic issue. If the government fails to implement it immediately, we expect which presidential candidate will proactively sympathize with my argument and make a decision.