For labor reform, Park may best be honest broker
Here is one prediction for the nation's labor reform.
By the end of the year, the rival parties will be stuck in a stalemate with no hope of a grand compromise. The ruling Saenuri Party will use its majority to railroad government bills through the National Assembly, while the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) will offer little more than token resistance.
Or, they end up with a compromise that is nothing grand, but rather a hodge-podge of toothless, watered-down revisions. As a result, the economy will remain in the doldrums with low growth and producing few quality jobs, forgoing the chance for any real recovery.
This skepticism stems not from the track record of the often nonfunctioning parliament but from the inevitable lack of trust among the parties over this bread-and-butter issue.
Bridging this trust divide is the key to the success of any reform. President Park Geun-hye has to play the role of honest broker, who assures all parties that the pains and gains will be equally split.
Her job can be tricky since the government's reform agenda focuses on bringing flexibility to the labor market or, bluntly speaking, making it easier for the employers to fire workers, which favors conglomerates.
She invited chaebol leaders last month, asking them to invest more and help invigorate the economy. As a confidence-building measure, she can do the same with union representatives.
More appropriately, she may preside over the first meeting of all parties involved and make a bipartisan pitch for an early and earnest start to negotiations.
Right now, the parties are jockeying for position, and are even at odds over what venue to use for the talks, expected to start after the extraordinary Assembly session begins next week.
The ruling party wants a tripartite meeting involving government, labor and employers, asking the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), an umbrella union group, to return to negotiations. The KCTU walked away in April, protesting the panel's biased stance toward management.
The opposition and unions want to create a parliamentary committee inviting all interests, citing the success of a similar apparatus with civil servant pension reform.
Park repeatedly calls labor reform a top-priority and an indispensable strategy for national survival, so she should make good on her word and do whatever it takes.
If some parties stonewall her and make compromise impossible, she should use her "bully pulpit" to bring the public to her side and put pressure on those stalling.
There is little disagreement that the labor market needs changing, when considering the dismal job prospects for young people, big firms moving their industrial bases out of the country and foreign investors complaining about the rigid labor market.
Striking a delicate balance between the opposing sides is crucial and there can be few better candidates for the job than the President. Nobody would envy her job because it will be tough and may subject her to criticism from all sides. However, her presidential legacy may depend on her performance.
Here is one prediction for the nation's labor reform.
By the end of the year, the rival parties will be stuck in a stalemate with no hope of a grand compromise. The ruling Saenuri Party will use its majority to railroad government bills through the National Assembly, while the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) will offer little more than token resistance.
Or, they end up with a compromise that is nothing grand, but rather a hodge-podge of toothless, watered-down revisions. As a result, the economy will remain in the doldrums with low growth and producing few quality jobs, forgoing the chance for any real recovery.
This skepticism stems not from the track record of the often nonfunctioning parliament but from the inevitable lack of trust among the parties over this bread-and-butter issue.
Bridging this trust divide is the key to the success of any reform. President Park Geun-hye has to play the role of honest broker, who assures all parties that the pains and gains will be equally split.
Her job can be tricky since the government's reform agenda focuses on bringing flexibility to the labor market or, bluntly speaking, making it easier for the employers to fire workers, which favors conglomerates.
She invited chaebol leaders last month, asking them to invest more and help invigorate the economy. As a confidence-building measure, she can do the same with union representatives.
More appropriately, she may preside over the first meeting of all parties involved and make a bipartisan pitch for an early and earnest start to negotiations.
Right now, the parties are jockeying for position, and are even at odds over what venue to use for the talks, expected to start after the extraordinary Assembly session begins next week.
The ruling party wants a tripartite meeting involving government, labor and employers, asking the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), an umbrella union group, to return to negotiations. The KCTU walked away in April, protesting the panel's biased stance toward management.
The opposition and unions want to create a parliamentary committee inviting all interests, citing the success of a similar apparatus with civil servant pension reform.
Park repeatedly calls labor reform a top-priority and an indispensable strategy for national survival, so she should make good on her word and do whatever it takes.
If some parties stonewall her and make compromise impossible, she should use her "bully pulpit" to bring the public to her side and put pressure on those stalling.
There is little disagreement that the labor market needs changing, when considering the dismal job prospects for young people, big firms moving their industrial bases out of the country and foreign investors complaining about the rigid labor market.
Striking a delicate balance between the opposing sides is crucial and there can be few better candidates for the job than the President. Nobody would envy her job because it will be tough and may subject her to criticism from all sides. However, her presidential legacy may depend on her performance.
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