President Lee Wants to Reduce Number of Elections
Re-Zoning Administrative Districts Proposed
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak said Saturday that now was the time to "have a serious talk" on reducing the number of elections to a reasonable level, calling the current election system "consuming and unproductive."
A constitutional change is a prerequisite to combining national elections.
In a speech marking the 64th anniversary of liberation from Japanese colonial rule Saturday at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Lee also proposed re-zoning administrative districts that were introduced a century ago.
He attributed the deepening of conflicts between parties, regions and social classes to the old, ineffective system.
On North Korea, President Lee put forth a new peace initiative aimed at rewarding the communist state with comprehensive, supportive measures if it gives up its nuclear program.
The governing Grand National Party (GNP) and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) welcomed Lee's proposals on re-zoning administrative districts and reforming the election system, saying they shared the need for the change.
The DP said it was willing to work with the ruling party to move the discussion forward.
GNP Chairman Park Hee-tae Sunday proposed inter-party talks to discuss the matter. The DP has yet to respond to it.
The main opposition party was discontent about Lee's peace initiative, saying it was insufficient because he didn't mention he would honor the June 15 and Oct. 4 declarations, adopted at the end of inter-Korean summit talks between former President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 2000 and former President Roh Moo-hyun in 2007.
During the speech, Lee said the nation has too many elections, one after another and these result in a deepening of conflicts between parties, regions and social classes.
"There is not a single year that passes without seeing a national election. These frequent elections oftentimes serve as an obstacle to running the country," he said.
"At the root of unproductive politics is regionalism. The current election system worsens regionalism and encourages elected politicians to focus only on regional interests," he said.
Presidential Spokesman Lee Dong-kwan told reporters Sunday that the President held the view of "no pain no gain" when it comes to his position on overhauling the election system.
"President Lee believes that a drive to reform the current election system can do a disservice to the GNP, in that the ruling party may lose its vested interest. Nevertheless, he thinks that reform should be sought if that is what it takes to make the system work," the spokesman said.
Clarifying the President's position on constitutional change, the spokesman said President Lee didn't intend to seek a drive for constitutional change immediately but he would consider it in the future if necessary.
The President said Korea's holding on to a century-old administrative districts is partly responsible for unproductive politics, calling on parties to start discussions to address and resolve the problem.
Lee also put forward what he called a middle, pragmatic way as a policy strategy to overcome the conflicts.
"A middle pragmatic way is intended to shed new light on the spirit of our Constitution - to respect the values of freedom and democracy as well as market economy and to take them to the next level," he said.
Lee also said the strategy means a balance between ideas and reality to put the people first "to ensure that national progress leads to personal happiness."