By Na Jeong-ju
The administration will strengthen its monitoring of possible draft dodging by celebrities and deal strictly with corrupt high-ranking officials and prominent social figures as part of efforts to create a fair society, officials said Thursday.
It also plans to introduce a value-added tax for cosmetic plastic surgery and create a team that handles habitual tax evaders.
Such measures were included in steps aimed at setting up higher ethical standards for social leaders. Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik reported the plan to President Lee Myung-bak at Cheong Wa Dae.
The action came after Lee called for a policy roadmap to ensure transparency in society as well as integrity among powerful people.
The conservative leader has made a series of remarks regarding social justice since he first mentioned the issue in his Aug. 15 Liberation Day speech last year, in which he vowed to spur Korea’s transition into a fair and clean society in a bid to make it an advanced country.
Such a drive met with public skepticism amid a series of corruption scandals involving senior officials as well as his nominees for top government posts.
Some opposition party lawmakers also denounced it as a politically motivated scheme that ultimately targets Lee’s political opponents.
Lee stressed at Thursday’s meeting that the country needs non-partisan, pan-national cooperation to translate the fair society vision into action.
“Privileged people should assume more responsibilities and social obligations than the less privileged. It’s essential to make Korea a respected nation,” Lee said.
Lee noted that the drive cannot be successful if it is discriminatory against certain people, citing a government survey that showed more than 70 percent of South Koreans don’t feel their country is just.
He expressed hope that his fair society campaign will continue through to the next presidency no matter who succeeds him, Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Kim Hee-jung said.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the government will focus on eradicating unfair practices in four sectors ― education, military conscription, tax and employment.
Under the plan, fines that are imposed on minor offenders will be commensurate with their income levels in an effort to protect low-income people.
The government will also introduce measures to remove discrimination based on educational background and increase educational opportunities for the poor to ensure fair competition and equal opportunities for all classes of people.