Lee’s Aides Call for Strengthening Public Advocacy
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
The government is more lowest-income-earner-friendly than the previous administration, however President Lee Myung-bak receives undeserved criticism that he takes sides with high-income earners, a key aide to Lee said Monday.
``The Lee administration has spent much more money to help people living in extreme poverty since Lee took office February of last year than his predecessor, the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, during the same period of time,'' Chung Chung-kil, presidential chief-of-staff, said.
During a policy consultation meeting with government officials and post holders of the governing Grand National Party (GNP), including Chairman Park Hee-tae, Chung continued, ``More than 70 percent of policies that the current government has implemented were for working-class families.''
Despite the pro-working class policies, Chung said many people believe that the Lee administration has maintained the pro-wealthy class family stance.
He emphasized the need for strengthening public advocacy activities at the government level to stop the groundless accusations that the Lee government takes sides with high-income earners.
Chung also said there is a deep discrepancy between the goals of major policy agendas, such as redistribution and measures for job creation, and public awareness of them.
In an effort to reduce the gap, he vowed to work closely with lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties to help them have better understanding of the measures for the poor so that they are cooperative to move the pending bills forward in the legislature.
Other participants included Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and Unification Minister Hyun In-taek.
GNP leaders were briefed by Cabinet ministers about the development of security threats posed by North Korea and core issues related to President Lee's scheduled summit talks with U.S. President Barack Obama during the high-level policy consultation meeting.
Participants also exchanged views on major agendas that will be discussed during the upcoming National Assembly session.
Prime Minister Han said that income inequality had been eased since Lee took office last year, compared with that of the previous Roh administration and shared the need for bolstering advocacy activities.
``Green growth is the one of the policy areas illustrating the necessity for active public relations," Han stressed. "It is the field that Korea can become a frontrunner in the global market but it is hard for general public to understand what it is really for. So we need to work on advocacy activities."