New leader should bring change for the better
Yoon Suk-yeol, the candidate of the main conservative opposition People Power Party (PPP), was elected as the country's next president Wednesday. He scored 48.56 percent of votes, defeating Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) who garnered 47.83 percent. Yoon, a former prosecutor general and political novice, won the election by the narrowest margin ever in the history of the Republic of Korea.
Yoon's victory reflected the people's aspiration for a change of government. Yet he failed to gain a majority vote. So he should accept the election results humbly and listen to the voices of those who supported his rivals.
Now the election is over and everyone needs to join efforts to usher in a new Korea and a better future under the new leadership. The two-way race was overheated with negative campaigns hindering the competition for better policy proposals. Voters were divided sharply along ideological, regional, generational and gender lines.
Thus the first thing President-elect Yoon and his party should do is to heal the divisions and bring the people together. They also must bring new politics to the nation as many Koreans have grown fed up with the political establishment, which is mired in ideological and partisan struggles. Besides, they should restore fairness, justice and common sense which have been severely damaged by the Moon Jae-in administration.
Equally urgent and important is to promote national unity and harmony. In his acceptance speech, Yoon said he will consider national unity as his top priority. "We must work together to become one for the people and for the Republic of Korea," he said. We hope that Yoon will leave no stone unturned to do exactly what he said.
‘Cooperative politics'
More than anything else, Yoon will have to work together with opposition parties to ensure bipartisan support for his policies. He cannot do anything without bipartisan cooperation because the PPP has only 110 seats in the 300-member National Assembly, while the DPK has a majority of 172 seats. Thus, "cooperative politics" is not an option, but a must. Yet, achieving this is easier said than done.
It is also necessary to keep his promise to form a government of national unity. He made the promise after his rival, Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor People's Party, dropped out of the race to field a single opposition candidate. And Yoon had better go the extra mile to set up a broader coalition government.
We positively assess Yoon's remarks that he will take the opposition-controlled National Assembly as an opportunity to develop democracy further. As he said, Yoon should make sincere efforts to forge partnerships with the opposition parties. He should not hesitate to seek the cooperation of the opposition to better serve the nation and protect the people's interests. He also needs to make thorough preparations to form a Cabinet by nominating competent and qualified figures for prime minister and other ministers before taking office in May.
Economic revival
It is also imperative to speed up economic recovery, while focusing on bringing the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic under control. Reviving the economy is, of course, a hard task, especially when the country is facing a series of downside risks such as the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. International economic sanctions on Russia and soaring oil prices are likely to deal a severe blow to Korea's export-oriented economy. But we cannot return to normal life without sustainable economic growth.
Yoon should concentrate on restarting the nation's growth engine by promoting deregulation, innovation and entrepreneurship as he promised during his campaign. He also must spare no efforts to create more jobs, particularly for young adults in their 20s and 30s. Besides, it is necessary to improve the livelihoods of low-income households and compensate small merchants and self-employed people for losses arising from COVID-19 restrictions on their business operations.
Yoon should also keep his promise to supply 2.5 million new homes to stabilize the overheated housing market. President Moon's failed housing policy was one of the key issues affecting the election results. Providing quality apartments at affordable prices is essential to tackling the housing shortage. At the same time it is important to ease tax burdens on homeowners who have nothing to do with property speculation.
New foreign policy
The incoming administration needs to map out new foreign policy to cope with a new Cold War between the U.S. and its rivals, China and Russia. As Yoon promised, it is necessary for Korea to strengthen its security alliance with the U.S. to deal with rapidly changing geopolitical situations and mounting security threats. Nevertheless, the country should not weaken its ties with China, its largest trading partner. It is getting more difficult to maintain President Moon's policy of striking a balance between the two great powers. But it would be better for Seoul to keep better ties with both Washington and Beijing to maximize its national interests.
Yoon is expected to take a hardline stance on North Korea. He needs to hammer out new strategies to prod the Kim Jong-un regime to move toward denuclearization and peace. He should work closely with the Biden administration to solve the nuclear issue based on dialogue and diplomacy. Most of all, Yoon should do everything he can to prevent the North from resuming ICBM launches and nuclear tests.
Yoon Suk-yeol, the candidate of the main conservative opposition People Power Party (PPP), was elected as the country's next president Wednesday. He scored 48.56 percent of votes, defeating Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) who garnered 47.83 percent. Yoon, a former prosecutor general and political novice, won the election by the narrowest margin ever in the history of the Republic of Korea.
Yoon's victory reflected the people's aspiration for a change of government. Yet he failed to gain a majority vote. So he should accept the election results humbly and listen to the voices of those who supported his rivals.
Now the election is over and everyone needs to join efforts to usher in a new Korea and a better future under the new leadership. The two-way race was overheated with negative campaigns hindering the competition for better policy proposals. Voters were divided sharply along ideological, regional, generational and gender lines.
Thus the first thing President-elect Yoon and his party should do is to heal the divisions and bring the people together. They also must bring new politics to the nation as many Koreans have grown fed up with the political establishment, which is mired in ideological and partisan struggles. Besides, they should restore fairness, justice and common sense which have been severely damaged by the Moon Jae-in administration.
Equally urgent and important is to promote national unity and harmony. In his acceptance speech, Yoon said he will consider national unity as his top priority. "We must work together to become one for the people and for the Republic of Korea," he said. We hope that Yoon will leave no stone unturned to do exactly what he said.
‘Cooperative politics'
More than anything else, Yoon will have to work together with opposition parties to ensure bipartisan support for his policies. He cannot do anything without bipartisan cooperation because the PPP has only 110 seats in the 300-member National Assembly, while the DPK has a majority of 172 seats. Thus, "cooperative politics" is not an option, but a must. Yet, achieving this is easier said than done.
It is also necessary to keep his promise to form a government of national unity. He made the promise after his rival, Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor People's Party, dropped out of the race to field a single opposition candidate. And Yoon had better go the extra mile to set up a broader coalition government.
We positively assess Yoon's remarks that he will take the opposition-controlled National Assembly as an opportunity to develop democracy further. As he said, Yoon should make sincere efforts to forge partnerships with the opposition parties. He should not hesitate to seek the cooperation of the opposition to better serve the nation and protect the people's interests. He also needs to make thorough preparations to form a Cabinet by nominating competent and qualified figures for prime minister and other ministers before taking office in May.
Economic revival
It is also imperative to speed up economic recovery, while focusing on bringing the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic under control. Reviving the economy is, of course, a hard task, especially when the country is facing a series of downside risks such as the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. International economic sanctions on Russia and soaring oil prices are likely to deal a severe blow to Korea's export-oriented economy. But we cannot return to normal life without sustainable economic growth.
Yoon should concentrate on restarting the nation's growth engine by promoting deregulation, innovation and entrepreneurship as he promised during his campaign. He also must spare no efforts to create more jobs, particularly for young adults in their 20s and 30s. Besides, it is necessary to improve the livelihoods of low-income households and compensate small merchants and self-employed people for losses arising from COVID-19 restrictions on their business operations.
Yoon should also keep his promise to supply 2.5 million new homes to stabilize the overheated housing market. President Moon's failed housing policy was one of the key issues affecting the election results. Providing quality apartments at affordable prices is essential to tackling the housing shortage. At the same time it is important to ease tax burdens on homeowners who have nothing to do with property speculation.
New foreign policy
The incoming administration needs to map out new foreign policy to cope with a new Cold War between the U.S. and its rivals, China and Russia. As Yoon promised, it is necessary for Korea to strengthen its security alliance with the U.S. to deal with rapidly changing geopolitical situations and mounting security threats. Nevertheless, the country should not weaken its ties with China, its largest trading partner. It is getting more difficult to maintain President Moon's policy of striking a balance between the two great powers. But it would be better for Seoul to keep better ties with both Washington and Beijing to maximize its national interests.
Yoon is expected to take a hardline stance on North Korea. He needs to hammer out new strategies to prod the Kim Jong-un regime to move toward denuclearization and peace. He should work closely with the Biden administration to solve the nuclear issue based on dialogue and diplomacy. Most of all, Yoon should do everything he can to prevent the North from resuming ICBM launches and nuclear tests.
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