election Chung Dong-young Vows to Become Leader of Unity
By Jung Sung-ki, Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporters
Presidential nominee Chung Dong-young of the United New Democratic Party (UNDP) picked family and opportunity as the top values which the nation should seek, trying to differentiate his economic vision from that of Lee Myung-bak of the Grand National Party (GNP).
He said the next government's mission was to take on the four major burdens of post-retirement, employment, housing and education. But Lee lacks know-how on how to reach this goal.
``Five years ago, the presidential election was a competition of new or old. Now, it is a competition for good or bad,'' Chung said in an interview with The Korea Times Sunday to mark the newspaper's 57th anniversary which falls on Thursday.
Once people recognize this aspect, they would find no reasons to choose Lee, he said.
Economic Views
Chung said it is true that the polarization has gotten worse and people have had more economic difficulties for the past 10 years because of the 1997-98 financial crisis and global depression, which he feels sorry about.
He said he, if elected president, he would better people's livelihood. The GNP nominee's philosophy and pledges would worsen the current polarized situation which will enable only the top 20 percent of the population to enjoy a slice of the pie, he said.
``I oppose Lee's idea is to leave the remaining 80 percent far behind,'' Chung said. ``I believe we need to propel a `non-discriminatory development' now as a strong countermeasure.''
Dismissing some criticisms that his idea contains two conflicting factors of discrimination and development, he explained that the campaign pledge is aimed at distributing benefits to everyone.
Lee's pledge on economic growth, however, would benefit only chaebol, Korea's family-run conglomerates, he said.
``Good and happy economic growth should be attained. Digging up inland canals are growth but it is bad growth.''
Lee has presented his signature pledge, dubbed ``Pan-Korea Waterway Project,'' to construct canals between northern and southern rivers to cut logistics costs.
``I am not an economic expert but I have vision and faith about the economy for the low incomers,'' Chung said. ``I am organizing a dream team to support my economic philosophy.''
Calling Lee a ``fake economic expert,'' he said he does not see that Lee, former CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction, could manage the nation as he used to run the company in the 1970s and 1980s.
The GNP candidate's large popularity is mainly attributable to his former career as a business executive, according to reports. But he is suspected of having been involved in scandals including the manipulation of stocks.
Lee's own way would bring ``bad and unfortunate'' change because his management style is more like that of a business leader, not the leader of a country, Chung said.
``A CEO and president have different philosophies on economy. CEOs whose primary goal is profit-seeking avoid obstacles in reaching their goal but the leader of a nation does not shun the underprivileged just because they are in the way of making a profit,'' he said.
The President is supposed to help people show their potential through investment, Chung emphasized.
As the world situation has changed, what the current knowledge-based economy requires is creativity and imagination, he said.
Chung said Bill Gates could nurture Microsoft based on the two factors. ``Construction-oriented policies may lead to higher growth rate but that is not the way we should head,'' the UNDP nominee said. ``Lee's pledges are probably suitable for the 1970s and 1980s but I don't see them as what the 21 century's leader should seek.''
Relations With President Roh
Chung underlined that he, if elected president, will manage the state in his own way differentiating from incumbent President Roh Moo-hyun and former President Kim Dae-jung even though his vision would basically be rooted in those of his predecessors.
``With the new government seeking the unity of the nation, I will maximize the achievements Roh and Kim have made for the past 10 years, while overcoming some limits in a creative manner,'' he said.
Chung reiterated his objection to the government's plan to extend the deployment of South Korean troops in Iraq.
Roh should keep his promise to withdraw the troops by the end of this year, he said.
Chung said it is inappropriate to make an issue of constitutional reform. But he admitted that the Constitution needs to be revised to introduce a four-year, two-term presidency.
Chung said only Mexico and South Korea have a five-year, single-term presidency.
But he reiterated that now it is not appropriate to discuss those issues.
He vowed to achieve unity of all regions, all classes and ultimately the nation based on the previous efforts by Roh and Kim Dae-jung.
Air-7 Project
Recalling that China successfully launched its first lunar orbiter ``Chang'e 1'' last Wednesday, Chung said Korea would remain a second-tier country if it focuses on land and sea transportation like cars or shipbuilding.
Citing J. F. Kennedy's pledge in 1960 to put a man on the moon, Chung said we have several supercomputers and enough money to develop the aerospace industry.
``If the leader has a strong determination to develop the aerospace industry, we can make up the so-called 10-year economic gap with Japan,'' he said. The ``Air-7 Project'' is one of Chung's major campaign pledges.
``China, India and Japan plan to dispatch a moon rover by 2017, 2020 and 2025, respectively,'' he said. ``For us, now is the time to reach for the moon.''
According to his pledge, South Korea will send an unmanned probe to the moon by 2020 and build a science station on the surface of the moon by 2025.
His plan to develop the aviation and aerospace industries will create new profit streams and reduce costs for logistics, he said.
In particular, the labor-intensive aerospace industry will provide many high-quality jobs to people, he added.
The UNDP candidate said the aerospace industry requires accuracy in materials and parts 100 times more than the auto industry does, so aerospace development will bring massive benefits.
He was proud of his ambitious project, saying foreign diplomats here endorsed it.
Trailing GNP Frontrunner
Chung expressed confidence that he can count on support of 30 percent by the end of November after coming up with his detailed campaign pledges, and will catch up with his GNP rival who enjoys more than 50 percent.
``I'm confident (in the approval rating). I feel public sentiment is changing. There will be great chance for my popularity to go up,'' he said.
The television anchor-turned-politician said he would make the most of face-to-face televised debates with Lee Myung-bak to differentiate his ``vision and values'' focused on the welfare of the ``have-nots'' from those of Lee for the``haves.''
Chung criticized Lee for pursuing policies only for conglomerates and those in power. He called Lee a person with a Cold War mentality.
As for joining forces with other self-claimed liberal-minded presidential hopefuls, Chung said time is not ripe yet.
He set Dec. 15 as the deadline, hinting a plan to pursue a last-minute drama for pro-government candidates to join hands as he did in 2002 between Roh Moo-hyun and Chung Mong-joon.
English Education
During the interview, Chung stressed the need for strengthening the country's English education system.
``For fluent English communication, it is said that about 2,700 hours of English classes are required for each student, but we have just 900 hours. So students get the remaining 1,800 hours from private tutoring,'' he said.
He referred to figures indicating that almost half of 30 trillion won reportedly spent for private tutoring a year is related to English language programs.
``I will push ahead with policies to provide all students with more and equal opportunities to learn English language by overhauling school curriculums and facilities, and securing a bigger budget and more quality teachers,'' he said.
Establishing an English immersion center at schools and hiring more qualified native English teachers are part of the plans to enhance the nation's English-language competitiveness, said the candidate.
Peace Regime
Chung expected a permanent peace regime could be created on the Korean Peninsula in about five years, stressing the need for further cross-border economic cooperation toward building a ``common economic bloc.''
``The focal point of the North Korean policy under the incumbent government is expanding inter-Korean cooperation. The next step should be creating a common economic bloc of the two Koreas based on a permanent peace mechanism on the peninsula,'' he said.
A former point man on North Korean affairs, Chung expressed objection to the idea of pressing the North regarding human rights problems and South Korean prisoners of war (POWs). He said the issues should be resolved gradually through dialogue and cooperation.
The Seoul government has maintained a low-profile approach toward the rights issues not to provoke the communist North, inviting criticisms from international human rights organizations.
More than 500 South Korean POWs are reportedly alive in North Korea.
Concluding the interview, Chung delivered a congratulatory message for The Korea Times marking the 57th anniversary on Nov. 1.
``I hope The Korea Times will continue to play a role in reporting global and Korean affairs to the world readers fast and accurately as the best English newspaper in South Korea,'' Chung said.