By Kim Tae-gyu
President Park Geun-hye faces a daunting task in reviving economic sentiment that has been dampened by the Sewol ferry tragedy.
"For the time being, Park will not be able to push ahead with her economic agenda due to the Sewol disaster. I think it will take some time to recover from the aftermath," said Prof. Kim Sang-jo at Hansung University.
"Our economy is not in good shape. As far as the economy is concerned, we are experiencing zero insight. As a professional economist, I cannot forecast what will happen tomorrow."
In particular, Kim said that Park will face hitches in undertaking her initiative of removing as many regulations as possible, the major task in achieving Park's three-year plan.
Earlier this year, The President came up with a bold target of reaching $30,000 in per capita gross domestic product (GDP), a 70 percent employment rate and a 4 percent potential growth rate over three years.
She vowed to create a better business environment through high-tech convergence, which she calls a creative economy, proactive deregulation and support for new venture firms.
In particular, Park focused on deregulation before the Sewol accident took place on April 16. Calling regulations "cancerous," she has encouraged officials to scrap unnecessary ones.
However, her commitment toward deregulations is almost gone due to the criticism that the deadly sinking of the 6,825-ton Sewol was partially caused by the easing of regulations.
Previously only ferries that were less than 20 years old were permitted to carry passengers, but Park's immediate predecessor Lee Myung-bak raised the limit to 30 years.
This prodded Chonghaejin Marine to purchase the Sewol, which was launched in 1994, from a Japanese company two years ago and use it to carry people on the Incheon-Jeju route.
If the 20-year rule had been in place, the company would not have bought the secondhand boat, which would have had an operational life of just two years.
Additionally, the worst might not be behind for the struggling President.
"Park will want to change the atmosphere with a new prime minister and Cabinet members. But they might be prove to be burdens rather than assets if any of them fail to pass confirmation hearings at the National Assembly," said a professor at a Seoul university, who asked not to be named.
"Plus, the June 4 local elections are coming up. Should the governing camp lose in the crucial polls, Park will face further distress. From her perspective, the worst might be ahead of her."
 |
| President Park Geun-hye |
"For the time being, Park will not be able to push ahead with her economic agenda due to the Sewol disaster. I think it will take some time to recover from the aftermath," said Prof. Kim Sang-jo at Hansung University.
"Our economy is not in good shape. As far as the economy is concerned, we are experiencing zero insight. As a professional economist, I cannot forecast what will happen tomorrow."
In particular, Kim said that Park will face hitches in undertaking her initiative of removing as many regulations as possible, the major task in achieving Park's three-year plan.
Earlier this year, The President came up with a bold target of reaching $30,000 in per capita gross domestic product (GDP), a 70 percent employment rate and a 4 percent potential growth rate over three years.
She vowed to create a better business environment through high-tech convergence, which she calls a creative economy, proactive deregulation and support for new venture firms.
In particular, Park focused on deregulation before the Sewol accident took place on April 16. Calling regulations "cancerous," she has encouraged officials to scrap unnecessary ones.
However, her commitment toward deregulations is almost gone due to the criticism that the deadly sinking of the 6,825-ton Sewol was partially caused by the easing of regulations.
Previously only ferries that were less than 20 years old were permitted to carry passengers, but Park's immediate predecessor Lee Myung-bak raised the limit to 30 years.
This prodded Chonghaejin Marine to purchase the Sewol, which was launched in 1994, from a Japanese company two years ago and use it to carry people on the Incheon-Jeju route.
If the 20-year rule had been in place, the company would not have bought the secondhand boat, which would have had an operational life of just two years.
Additionally, the worst might not be behind for the struggling President.
"Park will want to change the atmosphere with a new prime minister and Cabinet members. But they might be prove to be burdens rather than assets if any of them fail to pass confirmation hearings at the National Assembly," said a professor at a Seoul university, who asked not to be named.
"Plus, the June 4 local elections are coming up. Should the governing camp lose in the crucial polls, Park will face further distress. From her perspective, the worst might be ahead of her."
![[INTERVIEW] North Korean defectors bear brunt of remittance scams](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/75c261156ac7415fad92dc1d7c1b30cf.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Foreign-born entertainers seek to revolutionize local industry](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/4a6b2bd3d23044d699dee3c5bb956863.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
