SEOUL -- On Thursday, a candidate to be the next president of South Korea announced he would give up on plans to seek another round of universal relief payments to boost the recovery from the pandemic, backing away from a signature pledge in the name of political harmony.
The candidate, Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party, said he would abandon the plan due to the lack of consensus over relief payments among the two major political parties and the financial authorities, and concerns that a drawn-out battle over the terms of relief would delay payments.
