Conservatism, Pragmatism, Globalism Sweeping Korea

By Kim Yon-se and Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporters

Since his landslide victory on December 19, President-elect Lee Myung-bak has been busy designing his “Global Korea” projects.

He has been emphasizing so-called “anything but Roh (ABR)” policies in an apparent U-turn from those of President Roh Moo-hyun and his predecessor Kim Dae-jung under 10-years of liberal rule.

He plans to downsize what he believes to be a bloated bureaucracy, achieve budgetary savings of 10 percent, and push reciprocity with North Korea.

The President-elect has made it unequivocal that he is a strong advocate of the Korea-U.S. alliance, and assured wavering foreign companies that he means business when he emphasizes the importance of inbound foreign direct investment in the world’s 13th largest economy.

A Seoul restaurant owner said the victory of the businessman-turned-politician has symbolic meaning because the majority of the people say Lee is sure to revive the economy. She said in economy, psychology is quite important.

Lee said he values the Korea-U.S. alliance above inter-Korean relations, saying that better relations with the United States would eventually be helpful to the North.

Furthermore, Lee is ready to consider renegotiating the timeline for transfer of the wartime operational control from Washington to Seoul by 2012 ― which was agreed upon between Roh and U.S. President George W. Bush ― unless Pyongyang’s nuclear threat is diminished substantially. But Washington says the timetable will be honored.

He also made it clear that he would no longer argue rhetorically with Japan by demanding Tokyo’s apologies for past misdeeds, which in his view have been continuously repeated in the past. He also seeks better ties with China and Russia.

Lee is also seeking to deregulate the college admission policy, granting full autonomy to universities in picking the students they want. He has stopped short of adopting English as a second language. Instead, he and his transition team will implement programs aimed at helping students learn English in Korea. Lee Kyung-sook, chairwoman of the Presidential Transition Committee, said the new administration would no longer want to see more “wild goose daddies, penguin daddies or eagle daddies” who are earning money here alone to finance the education of their children staying overseas with their mothers.

Lee’s performance so far since his victory has been generally positive. But he has yet to prove that his pro-chaebol image will not alienate labor. His canal project drew cynicism. His iconic “747” project has lost one of its three wings because he confided that annual growth of 7 percent is unlikely to materialize this year.

During his campaign period, he pledged that the KOSPI would hit 3,000 in 2008 under his presidency. But the U.S. subprime woes have already slashed the index below 1,700.

His new conservative approach ― different from the neo-cons of the U.S. ― is seen from his remarks that he is willing to hold summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il anytime in Seoul, as long as such a meeting will contribute to the denuclearization of the North and inter-Korean relations.

Furthermore, his close confidants have asked Lee to adopt “harmonious liberalism” and “creative pragmatism” as two major guidelines for the next five years.

The next President, reflecting on sour public sentiment, has ordered a major facelift of the Grand National Party (GNP). He aims to resurrect it as a wholesome, competent political force. Sweeping reforms are expected throughout his five-year tenure.

As Lee’s signature campaign pledge was to boost the economy, which was a major factor in his landslide victory in the Dec. 19 election, the government reorganization plan gives more power to the economic policymaking ministry.

The incumbent Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Ministry of Planning and Budget will be merged to form the Ministry of Planning and Finance.

But there are two big hurdles Lee must overcome, now less than one month before his inauguration ― a special probe of the President-elect and the possibility of the incumbent Cabinet’s vetoing the government downsizing bill.

He has been under investigation by an independent counsel for his alleged involvement in a financial scam and the results will likely be announced in mid-February.

“I am sure that the result of the investigation will be the same,” Lee said. “Those who raised the reinvestigation issue will be held responsible for the redundant probe.”

The President-elect has called for “servant leadership,” which has been widely introduced in both local and global businesses, as his primary presidential leadership vision.

The transition team highlighted alternative leadership as a guiding light for the new government, which is manifested in the slogan of the team: “We will serve you.”

The servant leadership, along with putting the economy-first, is a core value characterizing the nature of the incoming government.

Prof. Song Ho-keun of the Department of Sociology at Seoul National University (SNU) characterized Lee’s leadership style, which was shown during his Seoul mayoralty, as result-driven and performance-based.

Song said that Lee is “unrivaled when it comes to finding projects and making them work.”

However, the professor is skeptical over whether Lee is politically sophisticated enough to deal with the conflict of interests between the government and his partners in the legislative body. He said it remains to be seen whether or not Lee can successfully persuade his opponents.

kys@koreatimes.co.kr
hkang@koreatimes.co.kr