Parties converge on economic vision for elections

Ruling Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-sung, third from left, poses with Ulsan Mayor Kim Gi-hyeon, second from left, and the party’s other senior lawmakers during a meeting of its Supreme Council in Ulsan on March 12. The slogan behind them reads: “Economic take-off for Ulsan.” / Yonhap

Liberal opposition shifts to mimic conservative Saenuri

By Yi Whan-woo

The main political parties are stressing policies to boost economic recovery in a bid to win seats in the parliamentary by-elections on April 29.

The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) especially has shifted its policy from distribution of wealth to increasing wealth, seemingly following the lead of the ruling Saenuri Party.

The conservative Saenuri Party is claiming that the national economy has shown signs of recovery because of the party’s collaboration with the government.

For instance, last year’s economic growth rate stood at 3.3 percent, after increasing for two consecutive years.

A total of 533,000 jobs were created in 2014, the most since 2012. Housing transactions stood at 1,005,173, the largest number since 2006 when 1,082,000 houses were traded.

Moreover, the tech-heavy KOSDAQ broke the 640 mark for the first time in 81 months on Friday. The KOSDAQ rose 8.27 points, or 1.31 percent, to close at 640.08.

Citing such statistics, the Saenuri Party is appealing for voter support in the by-elections, where the parties will compete in four constituencies — Gwanak-B in Seoul, Joongwon-B in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Seogu-B in Gwangju and Ganghwa-B in Incheon.

President Park Geun-hye wooed party support in a bid to kick-start the economy in February when she met with party Chairman Kim Moo-sung, floor leader Yoo Seong-min and chief policymaker Won Yoo-chul.

Yoo, one of the party’s economic experts, said then that the ruling party would attempt to pass a package of bills intended to bolster the economy, as well as an ambitious reform bill that would overhaul the debt-ridden pension system for government employees.

Main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) Chairman Moon Jae-in, center, speaks during a ceremony to appoint party candidates to stand in the April 29 parliamentary by-elections at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on March 19. The slogan behind him reads: “NPAD, the party capable of handing the economy.” / Yonhap

Kim sided with President Park as well on the importance of prioritizing the passage of economy-related bills.

“I wholeheartedly agree with your remark that revitalizing the economy should be of utmost importance,” he said.

The NPAD also has been publicizing that it puts a priority on the economy since Rep. Moon Jae-in, a 2012 presidential contender, took office as the party’s chairman in February.

Moon has been calling for economic growth based on an increase in household incomes.

And he criticized Park for her “botched” economic policies in their meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday.

Moon told Park that her economic policies had left the economy in great danger and failed to improve the overall quality of people’s lives, which were her major campaign pledges.

Park’s apparent discomfort failed to stop Moon, as he continued to use words like “failure,” “all-around crisis” and “broken campaign pledges.”

He continued to criticize the President Wednesday, holding her responsible for having no clear vision for contentious economic issues or any measures prepared to resolve the problems.

“I realized that the President and I still had different standpoints over how to assess the reality of the economy and resolve the problem,” he said.

“The government appears to have no countermeasures to resolve problems with corporate taxes, rising short- and long-term rent prices and household debts.”

According to analysts, the two parties made “a right choice” in their strategy to focus on the economy in the lead-up to the by-elections, considering the society is turning conservative and is facing a risk of deflation.

“The society is heading toward conservatism in terms of politics and the economy amid concerns that the country’s economy has entered deflation,” said Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University.

“And the two parties on the right track in their strategy to win the by-election. In particular, it’s noteworthy that the liberal-minded NPAD has mimicked the conservative Saenuri Party in its policy.”

He said the public anger against a pro-North Korean activist, Kim Ki-jong who attacked U.S. Ambassador to Korea Mark Lippert on March 5, is one of many signs for the society becoming conservative. Lippert suffered knife wounds on his face and wrist.

Shin added the April by-elections come after the Constitutional Court ordered to dissolve the ultra-leftwing Unified Progressive Party (UPP) in December for its pro-North Korean activities.

Three of the four National Assembly seats in the parliamentary elections were previously occupied by minor opposition UPP members.

Yoon Hee-woong, a senior researcher at Opinion Live, voiced agreement with Shin.

“People tend to put priority on the economy over other issues when they have difficulties in their living conditions. It was a well-made decision for the rival parties to focus on the economy in their campaign for the by-elections,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan expressed concerns on March 4 that the economy is slipping into deflation because consumer price rises had stayed near zero percent recently.

According to economists, Choi and Kim “indirectly influenced” an interest rate cut on March 12 to maintain household debt at manageable levels.

The Bank of Korea unexpectedly cut its key interest rate to a record low of 1.75 percent, joining other central banks in a worldwide “easing” policy.