Yoon administration to focus on restoring fairness, democracy

Ahn Cheol-soo, the head of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition committee, speaks at a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Transition team chief unveils five national tasks

By Kang Seung-woo

The incoming administration will place top priority on restoring democracy and creating a country ruled by law and fairness, Ahn Cheol-soo, the head of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition committee, said Monday.

The pledge was one of the five key national tasks to be achieved under the new administration unveiled by Ahn during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, the same day.

On Sunday, the president-elect appointed Ahn, chairman of the minor opposition People's Party, to lead his transition committee in accordance with an agreement they made during the election campaign. On March 3, when announcing a candidacy merger deal, they agreed to consult on everything from the makeup of the transition committee to the composition of the coalition government.

First of all, Ahn said the new government will focus on restoring fairness, constitutionalism and democracy.

"We have to fix unfairness in every nook and cranny of our society," Ahn said. "All human beings are equal before the law."

Also, the Yoon administration will focus on establishing a base for future growth and job opportunities, Ahn said.

"Under the five-year economic development plan under former President Park Chung-hee, which boosted the nation's heavy, steel and shipbuilding industries, we were able to make a living for 20 years from the 1980s to 2000s. Thanks to former President Kim Dae-jung, who focused on internet-based ventures, we could also thrive for 20 years from the 2000s to 2010s," he said.

"The new president should come up with a new growth engine and job opportunities to spearhead the fourth industrial revolution."

In addition, Ahn said the new government will pursue balanced regional development.

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"The nation is suffering from a declining birthrate, and under the circumstances, what we are overlooking is the low birthrate mainly due to unbalanced regional development," he said, adding that lucrative jobs available in Seoul and its surrounding areas have drawn people from across the country to the capital region.

The nation's sustainability and national unity rounded out the top-five tasks.

In addition, Ahn said that a final decision had not been reached to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, an organization that Yoon had vowed to do away with during the election campaign.

Right after Yoon's election victory, the fate of the gender ministry became a talking point as he pledged to abolish it. On Sunday, he reconfirmed his intent to keep the campaign promise, saying that the ministry "has fulfilled its historical calling."

Ahn said he would give the president-elect several different policy options and it will be Yoon who will make a final call about the fate of the ministry.

"When we look at the past governments, we can find that about half of the campaign pledges were adopted as actual policy agendas. The rate was 50 percent during the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye governments, and when President Roh Moo-hyun was in power, it was 60 percent," he said. "As you know, President Moon Jae-in was sworn in without the presidential transition committee and almost all of his campaign pledges were adopted as major policy initiatives and this caused a lot of negative fallout. I think one of the reasons behind the policy failures of the Moon government came from that."

Upon Ahn's appointment as the transition team leader, speculation is rife that he may be the inaugural prime minister of the Yoon administration.

However, he said there was no space to think about other things as he should figure out the new government's projects and present a rough sketch for them.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Yoon tapped Kim Han-gil, former head of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Kim Byong-joon, former interim head of the Liberty Korea Party to lead the national unity committee and the committee on balanced development, respectively. The Liberty Korea Party is a predecessor of the People Power Party (PPP).

"Kim Han-gil is a person who can bring together different generations and social classes, and achieve national unity," Yoon said. "Kim Byong-joon has experience and expertise in municipal authority, and is expected to draw a big picture for balanced regional growth."

In addition, Yoon said he will do away with the office of senior secretary for civil affairs that has often been accused of secret probes into political opponents and civilians, according to his spokesperson Kim Eun-hye.

Yoon made the remark during a meeting with transition team leaders, saying the office of senior secretary for civil affairs has often been used to "control opposition political forces" and to conduct secret investigations into civilians, according to the spokesperson.

"I will terminate these practices," Yoon was quoted as saying.

Abolishing the office of civil affairs secretary was one of Yoon's election pledges.