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| President Park Geun-hye, left, and her father and former President Park Chung-hee |
By Kim Tae-gyu
President Park Geun-hye is apparently following in her father Park Chung-hee's footsteps in her governing style, observers said Tuesday.
In her first New Year press conference Monday, Park disclosed a three-year project aimed at boosting the economy with a host of quantitative goals, similar to the five-year plans of the 1960s and ‘70s.
Former President Park took advantage of these to develop the economy, which his proponents say helped Korea rack up fast growth in national output during his rule from 1961 through 1979.
"Almost everybody would have thought of the five-year economic development plan while watching the press conference by (the current) President Park," said Professor Kim Sang-jo at Hansung University.
"Park seems to depend on her father's legacy rather than proactively overcoming it because the media briefing wasn't the first time that Park unveiled initiatives similar to her father's."
On the strength of the three-year program of focusing on high-tech convergence and services industries to underpin domestic consumption, Park presented specific goals of reaching $30,000 in per capita gross domestic product (GDP), a 70 percent employment rate and a 4 percent potential growth rate.
The conference caught experts by surprise since the Park administration has vowed to refrain from painting a rosy picture with optimistic quantitative targets, which were trademarks of the five-year plans.
The five-year project was not the brainchild of the late Park, but the general-turned-President launched it early in 1962, less than a year after he took power through a coup in 1961.
During his 19-year rule, the authoritarian leader spearheaded the five-year plans four times as the country increased GDP per capita from less than $100 to more than $1,000.
As Kim pointed out, this was not the first time that President Park overtly benchmarked her father.
During Park's inaugural address on Feb. 25 last year, she promised to achieve a "Second Miracle on the Han River" following the original one in the late 20th century of fast economic growth under the stewardship of Park Chung-hee.
She also stressed the necessity to revive the New Village Movement, which was one of her father's missions geared toward modernizing rural areas.
Some watchers claim that the nation's first female chief executive intentionally takes advantage of being the daughter of a former president, who is still famous among senior citizens and conservatives.
"Park Chung-hee receives mixed evaluations. But he is still loved by many people, who in turn support the incumbent President Park," said Professor Shin Yul at Myongji University. "I think she uses her father's legacy as political leverage."
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