Chung Vows to Streamline Presidential Bodies
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Presidential candidate Chung Dong-young of the United New Democratic Party (UNDP) pledged Tuesday to streamline presidential committees for a more efficient government.
``As the number of committees affiliated with the presidential office is now 47, Cabinet ministers' influence has dwindled,'' Chung said at a forum in Seoul. ``I think it is right for people to feel that Cheong Wa Dae and the Office of the Prime Minister should be streamlined.''
He stressed that for an efficient government, barriers between ministries and departments should be pulled down. ``Speedy service is the best service (for the public).''
He also commented that the next president does not need to be a man with business experience.
``Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi came from the private sector but both were failed leaders,'' Chung said.
Lee Myung-bak, the presidential candidate of the Grand National Party, had previously worked as CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction.
``What a president is required to have is firm determination, insight and a driving force,'' Chung said, adding that most successful leaders in OECD members over the last 30 years were politicians.
Chung, who served as unification minister between 2004 and 2005, rebutted Lee's economic pledge by saying that his business-friendly views will worsen income polarization, fattening only the top 20 percent of the market.
He stressed more opportunities and non-discriminatory development will protect family values.
Chung, a television anchor-turned-politician, cast doubt on whether Lee is an economic expert, citing an article in which Lee insisted that companies in the Gaeseong Industrial Complex were in the red.
``Lee insisted that the nation stop running the complex because of short-term losses but I think this idea is attributable to his lack of insight,'' he said. ``The initial depreciation expenses and more investment are triggering the transient losses.''
He also attacked Lee, saying CEOs tend to get rid of obstacles to attain their primary goal of profit-making, which should not be considered a qualification for the leader of a nation.
As for the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, he took a cautious stance, saying the National Assembly should ratify the deal.
He reiterated his objection to the extension of troop deployment in Iraq.
Korea can draw respect from the U.S. when ``we make a decision based on the spirit of independence,'' he said.
Chung also promised to cut burdensome educational expenses and help students nurture their creativity and imagination through a doubled educational budget and specialized programs at universities.