By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak said Monday that Korea must continue to embrace the rule of law and that the rich and the powerful must first set an example by strictly following the law and show that the legal system applies equally and fairly to everyone.
Lee made the comment during his New Year policy briefing held at Cheong Wa Dae. Officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Legislation as well as the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission presented their briefings to the president.
``First and foremost, the elite members in our society and the government bureaucrats must follow the rule of law without exception and foster a public awareness that everyone is subject to the same rule of law," he said.
President Lee commented that one unfortunate side effect of Korea's accelerated economic development during the past half century is that, sometimes, activities involving illegal elements were tolerated if they were perceived to benefit national economic growth. During times of poverty, national economic development triumphed over everything else.
He added, ``The Korean public is counting on our administration to put an end to corrupt practices."
``Our nation's law-abiding spirit is still not on a par with our leading economic status," he added. ``And that is a major hurdle for us to clear before joining the ranks of advanced nations in the world." The public should also steer away from illegal protests as part of this effort, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
President Lee also pointed to a recent overseas study that argued Korea's ``national brand" is worth less than brand values of the country's top corporations such as Samsung. It ought to be the other way around, he told government officials, and that Korea ought to nurture and maintain a strong national brand.
``This study also showed that Korea's national brand is worth only a fraction of Japan's. Some factors that contributed to this finding include the lack of law-abiding spirit, as well as the ongoing labor problems and the continuing threats from North Korea," he said.