By Kim Choong-nam
Contributing Writer
HAWAII _ The presidential election is only a few weeks away but the political scene is as murky as the autumn fog of Korea.
Although the upcoming election is widely regarded as very significant in the destiny of Korea, Koreans are confused by the ever shifting political landscape, and find it difficult to objectively evaluate the campaign platforms of candidates.
An election is a barometer of democracy, and the Korean election seems to be a far cry from a mature democracy.
Parties and candidates adopted many measures to win _ parties dissolved, split and regrouped; some presidential hopefuls broke away from their parties, joined other parties, organized their own parties, allied with other parties, or ran for president as an independent.
Rather than convincing the public of the merits of their campaign pledges, candidates are busy with political maneuverings. Although Korea is an advanced society in many aspects, its politics tend to be like those of a Third World country.
Presidential campaigns should be about the greater issue of the nation's future, not about personality or moral issues. But this election is deteriorating into a contest where candidates are defaming each other. Under the circumstances, political parties, policies, the spirit of the era and leadership are put aside.
Five years ago under similar circumstances, Roh Moo-hyun was elected president without careful public evaluation of his leadership potential and policies. Korean voters should not repeat such mistakes. Voters should think about specific criteria when choosing the next president.
First of all, the purpose of a presidential election is to not only to choose a president but also a national management team. Political parties that candidates represent should be carefully evaluated during the election.
No matter how well qualified a candidate is and how good his campaign platforms are, a leader who represents a minor party or is an independent may find it difficult to implement his policies because he has no support base in the National Assembly.
The past performances of a party may predict its future performance. Therefore, the ruling party, which is responsible for the poor performance of the current administration, must convince the public how it will not repeat such a failure in the future.
Secondly, the next president should have a reasonable vision on how to lead the country. A good vision is one, which is based on a mission about the country's problems and its future. The large majority of Koreans have been dissatisfied with the state of the nation.
Korea faces some serious problems _ weakening international competition, high unemployment, distrust in governmental policies including education, aging population, uncertain security environment, and the like. It needs a new vision, which may overcome such difficulties and provide a new momentum for progress.
We find two contrasting views on which direction Korea has to go. If a conservative candidate such as Lee Myung-bak wins, he will have to reverse the progressive course in a conservative direction
If a progressive candidate, such as Chung Dong-young wins, he will have to continue the progressive policies the two previous administrations have pursued.
Thirdly, the next president should have clear and practical plans. Candidates seem to promise too many things without considering the constraints of budget and governmental capability.
Each candidate chants that the future under his presidency will be bright. Each promises to create 2.5 to 5 million new jobs, along with a 6-8 percent economic growth. Similar pledges in the past have never been realized.
Only businesses can create jobs and boost the economy by investment. What the government should do is create a favorable business environment by means of deregulation, investment in technology and social overhead capital, improvement of public services and education, and the like.
To govern is to choose wisely. If a president tries to solve all the problems, he could end up achieving nothing. He must concentrate his attention on the issues of high priority.
Therefore, he should have well-prepared practical agendas with a clear priority and detailed plans. We should not expect too much from a single, five-year term president. When you vote for the man who promises little, you will be disappointed a little.
Korea needs a task-oriented leader who can carry out urgent tasks, even though such plans might upset some people and give them cause to protest. Therefore, voters should not be deceived by impractical promises.
Fourthly, the next president should have organizational and managerial skills. A government is a complex organization. Good governance is essential to a successful leader.
As we experienced during recent administrations, a president who had no or limited experience in managing a complex organization like government, pursued ambitious goals but failed to achieve them. He managed the government by personal networks rather than official policymaking process.
On the other hand, both Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan managed the government by institutions: they learned managerial skills during military careers and established strong, effective national management teams. Eisenhower said, ``Disorganization can scarcely fail to result in inefficiency and can easily lead to disaster.''
Fifthly, a president should have a good judgment character and be able to choose persons qualified for managing national affairs. A president tends to be selected on the basis of their availability rather than on their ability to lead.
Even if a well-qualified leader is elected, he cannot manage the many complex issues under the pressures of time and conflicting demands from the society. He must be assisted by capable and professional advisers.
History shows that successful leaders are the ones who surround themselves with the best advisers. Most achievement-oriented leaders carefully select their advisers and maintain a strong and effective policymaking team throughout their term.
However, poor personnel management of recent governments has been regarded as one of the critical weaknesses of Korean presidents. Voters should judge a candidate based on whom (i.e., capable experts or political supporters) he will recruit if elected.
Finally, the next president should have a strategic vision for Korea. Despite its strategically vulnerable position, Korea has long lacked a viable national strategy to protect its sovereignty.
Additionally, the country is a major trading nation in the world; its survival and prosperity depend greatly upon its foreign and security policy.
Therefore, one of the most important tasks of the next president will be the management of foreign and security policy. He will face the ongoing North Korean crisis, increasingly assertive neighbors and the accelerating trend of globalization.
Particularly, he must handle difficult tasks such as the transfer of wartime operational control and resultant readjustment of Korea-U.S. security cooperation as well as a nuclear armed North Korea or a denuclearized North Korea and the consequent adjustments of inter-Korean and regional relations.