Presidential hopefuls pledge sustainable growth, economic democracy

Presidential candidates touted their plans for sustainable growth and economic democracy as key campaign pledges on Thursday as South Korea struggles to overcome various global and domestic challenges.

The goals set by ruling Saenuri Party presidential candidate Park Geun-hye, main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) standard bearer Moon Jae-in, and independent contender Ahn Cheol-soo, come as a drop in exports, sluggish domestic growth and tough job market conditions are fueling public demands for fresh policy initiatives.

Park said in a news conference earlier in the day that she advocates a new economic paradigm focused on creativity that will call for concerted efforts to build up scientific know-how and technologies that directly impact everyday lives.

"The creativity-based economic paradigm can churn up more jobs and improve overall industrial competitiveness by invigorating peoples' imaginations and creativity, as well as prowess in the science and technology sectors," she said.

The 60-year-old politician said that by strengthening the country's capabilities in science and in such areas as information technology (IT), South Korea can transform itself from a "fast follower" to a "first mover" in the international arena, and ensure Asia's fourth largest economy is able to achieve sustainable growth.

"Steve Jobs has shown that leading the world is possible by using limitless imagination and making full use of existing technologies," the presidential contender said.

She said as part of a broad blueprint, she will first implement a "Smart New Deal" that aims to incorporate IT into every facet of industry and agriculture, and designate the software industry as a future growth engine for the country.

Park also promised to kick off a "K-Move" program to assist young people in finding overseas jobs, and set up a system that encourages mergers and acquisitions, and "angel investments" to assist young entrepreneurs.

Other measures to be followed call for greater information sharing by government agencies that can assist timely policymaking and moves to permit flexible work hours in the public sector.

The five-term lawmaker said she will call for the creation of a local version of Israel's Yozma Fund to help local startup venture companies expand into foreign markets.

Helping startups that have not been given a fair chance to succeed in the face of overbearing pressure from big companies is a key part of the Saenuri candidate's drive for economic democracy.

Park, who is the daughter of late President Park Chung-hee, said to back up her new economic paradigm, she will create a new ministry of creativity and science that will be tasked with finding future growth engines, supporting innovation and creating more jobs in future oriented industries.

DUP's Moon said that his policies are rooted in the need to create a "fair economy" that enforces equal opportunity in the market, lays the foundation for sustainable growth for all economic actors, and promotes the fair distribution of wealth.

The candidate stressed this approach can promote all the inherent strengths found in a free market economy, while at the same time contributing to economic democracy.

The contender, who was chief of staff to late President Roh Moo-hyun, has stressed growth, job creation, welfare and economic democracy as key campaign goals leading up to this year's presidential race.

Reflecting this, Moon has taken personal charge of the party's so-called job revolution committee and called for corrections to the distorted ownership structure of the country's large family-owned conglomerates, and an end to tax cuts for the wealthy carried out under the incumbent Lee Myung-bak administration.

The first term lawmaker, in addition, advocates a positive cycle of growth, distribution, environmental protection and peace on the Korean Peninsula, as his sustainable economic policy goal.

The DUP candidate said that he will protect the rights of the people by renegotiating details of the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, if he is elected to the country's top political post. The trade pact went into effect in March of this year.

"There is a need to correct parts of the FTA that compromise South Korea's rights in areas like the farming sector," he claimed.

Independent candidate Ahn, meanwhile, has concentrated on innovation to overcome present obstacles.

The founder of AhnLab, the country's largest anti-virus software firm, said his position on economic democracy is based a "two-wheel economy" system with equal emphasis placed on welfare and innovation, with the two parts jointly helping to create more jobs.

"The system strives to harness fresh ideas from all economic actors and to make full use of existing resources through an integration process that can raise the value of products and services," the entrepreneur-turned-politician said.

He said the fruits of such development can be shared evenly, which will benefit small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and ordinary people and lead to sustainable growth.

The 50-year-old Ahn said if he is elected in the Dec. 19 polls, he plans to create a mutually beneficial network of innovative entrepreneurs who seek growth through dynamism, openness and sustainability. Such an arrangement can allow the flourishing of SMEs and small-time merchants and permit the country to pull off steady growth, he claimed. (Yonhap)