3 promises to keep

This is the first in a series of letters by experts to President-elect Park Geun-hye. — ED.

By Jeffrey Jones

Jeffrey Jones

Dear Madam President-elect:

Please accept my very sincere congratulations on your historic election as the new President of Korea. You have been an important part of the political landscape in Korea for many years and I am confident that you will bring significant change to the mood and economic environment of Korea. The year 2013 should be an exciting and dramatic time for the Korean economy.

I was particularly impressed by your remarks immediately following confirmation that you had been elected with a majority of the votes when you emphasized that you would be a president who keeps campaign promises. This was very heartwarming to hear and there are three promises in particular that I believe the business community are hoping will be implemented.

The first promise is your pledge to bring unity to Korean society. The fulfillment of this promise will do more to improve the economic environment in Korea than any of your many campaign promises.

The entire globe is caught up in a struggle often characterized as the economic divide between rich and poor. There will always be rich and poor so long as human beings have differing abilities and talents. This can never be eliminated. However, the feeling of bitterness and unfairness associated with the economic divide can be overcome if there is a strong understanding that society provides all with equal opportunity and fairness with a sufficiently credible social safety net in place.

To create an atmosphere of equality and fairness, it is critical for a national leader to maintain a continuous dialogue with the nation through regular and frequent conversations with the citizens. This can be done through regular “fireside chats” or “town meetings.”

U.S. Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan achieved much of their success and popularity with the citizens by continuous dialogue with the people through the media. Roosevelt used the radio and Reagan used television to effectively reach the people, explaining the policy and direction of the government and giving them assurance of where the nation was headed.

In addition, I hope that you will wisely choose your ministers. You have already emphasized the need for expertise and professionalism in respect of your choice for those who will operate the transition committee.

Similarly, the choice of ministers and other presidential appointees should not be made on the basis of political cronyism, but expertise and professionalism. Presidential appointments should be given to individuals who will earn the respect of the citizens and the technocrats in the ministries. This is absolutely critical to achieving respect and unity from the people.

Madam President-elect, your second promise that is so important is your pledge to strictly enforce existing rules and regulations. Very often this is interpreted as being anti-big business.

Quite frankly, enforcement of the rules and regulations is quite the opposite.Businesses, both large and small, will thrive if your administration creates an atmosphere of consistent and fair enforcement of the laws and regulations.

More than anything else, businesses require predictability to grow.Without consistent and fair enforcement of the law, businesses are unable to predict the future, the business environment suffers and investment ceases. Large businesses in Korea and across the globe are hoarding cash because of the unpredictability of the economy. Consistent enforcement of the rules can help to create a predictable business environment that will bring back investment to the Korean economy.

The third promise we all are depending upon isyour promise to create jobs.In appointing the chair and vice chair of the transition committee, you have rightly given them the challenge that their most important responsibility is to implement a policy and legislative agenda that will result in significant creation of jobs for young people.

This will create real hope for the future and a happy and optimistic society. Words alone will not create the jobs needed so those on the transition committee and in your administration need to seek out real and practical ideas that can result in the creation of sufficient jobs to fulfill the needs of the Korea’s young.

This will requirecourage and creativity.There are many possibilities to create the type of environment that will result in real jobs, but it means accepting newideas and not being afraid of change thatcan open new opportunities for investment and jobs. The three sectors that offer the most promise of jobs are tourism, education and medical services. The transition committee should focus on these three sectors and they will find the right policies that will result in job creation for Korea’s youth.

Madam President, you have assured us that you will be a president who keeps her promises. By keeping the above three promisesyou will create an economic environment in which the citizens feel hope for the future and will know that with the right amount of effort, they can achieve a comfortable life. We all look forward to your new administration with hope. Thank you.

Jeffrey Jones is a former AMCHAM chairman.