The publisher of American magazine Forbes urged U.S. presidential candidates to learn a lesson from South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's bid to boost business activities and economic growth through tax cuts and deregulation.
Rich Karlgaard said in his "Digital Rules" column, a regular feature of the Forbes.com, that Lee's attempt to transform the South Korean economy through a mixture of tax cuts, deregulation and privatization and revive the economy by re-energizing business activities should be admired by all U.S. presidential hopefuls.
"Wouldn't it be cool if America elected a president in November who said things like this: 'Business is the foundation of the economy, and the economy will recover only when business activities are re-energized," Karlgaard said, citing Lee's remarks made in an interview with the Financial Times last week.
"Unfortunately, this guy is not available. He is South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak, the former CEO of Hyundai Construction," he said in the column, titled "America should be so lucky."
In a press release on Sunday, the South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Daeb said that the Forbes.com, nicknamed "a homepage for the world's business leaders," is visited by about 15 million people every month. The 54-year-old Karlgaard succeeded Steve Forbes as the publisher of Forbes magazine in 1998.
In the interview with the Financial Times, Lee vowed to transform Asia's third-largest economy and boost economic growth to 7 percent a year despite the global market turmoil. Lee also said the big companies have to continue to develop themselves, while small and mid-sized companies should be made healthier so they have their own competitiveness, dismissing claims that his government would favor large conglomerates.
The Forbes publisher noted that what impressed him even more about the South Korean leader's vision is his "belief in the power of small businesses."
"Growth! Simulated by tax cuts! Imagine that! Mr. Lee, do us poor Americans a favor. Please call Mr. Obama and Ms. Clinton... Why do Obama and Clinton and occasionally McCain fail to grasp that (in the words of Mr. Lee) 'the economy will recover only when business activities are re-energized,'" said Karlgaard.
"This is not typical thinking from South Koreans, but it is absolutely correct. Now might be a good time to poke at a South Korean exchange-traded fund," the publisher said.
Lee is scheduled to visit the U.S. from April 15-19 for a summit with U.S. President George W. Bush at Camp David. (Yonhap)