President accents need to pursue growth, welfare
My recent interest as President lies in the fact that I should focus on running state affairs without being swayed by the upcoming presidential election so that the next administration will not be handed any burden.
I hope that the media will exercise more prudence and cool judgment when using such terms as “economic crisis” and the “economy in a shambles.”
The current growth rate of the Korean economy is not at a low level at all. If presidential candidates are obsessed with economic growth in making campaign pledges, they are bound to go out of their way to adopt an irrational economic policy in the future. They should come out with strategies of how to manage the economy, rather than with a quantification of economic growth goals.
The Participatory Government has made decisive contributions to improving the economic environment. The Administration has broken with the bad practice of a government-orchestrated economy and enhanced the stability of the financial industry. It has also established an educational system to nurture highly qualified human resources.
The Participatory Government has exerted utmost efforts to bridge the socioeconomic gap, creating jobs at small and medium-sized companies and in the service and social sectors.
The 18-month-long legislative stalemate on Government bills in the National Assembly led to the loss of 17 trillion won.
Small and medium companies are experiencing a labor shortage of nearly 200,000 workers. The discrepancy between the supply and demand is the major reason for unemployment among young adults. It is not going to be resolved any time soon, but as long as we make devoted efforts, the problem will be eased.
It is not constructive to blow the real estate issue out of proportion, in an attempt to shake Government policy. The capital gains tax for one household owning one house is fairly small, but the jitter over the issue has been exaggerated. If the President cut the comprehensive real estate holdings tax and the capital gains tax for the top 1 percent of all Koreans, he would be nothing more than “the President of 1 percent of the people.”
With the real estate market on the right track, there should be emphasis on residential welfare, that is, the quality-of-life issue for the citizens who have no housing or live in below-average housing environments. There should be increased housing supply from the public sector to prepare for unexpected situations, financed by loans from the financial market.
As far as the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is concerned, we cannot afford to delay it because if we don’t get the agreement first, other competing nations will sign an agreement with the United States before us. FTAs do not have anything to do with ideology; it is principally a matter of survival·how to feed ourselves in the future. The Government estimates that the FTA would adversely affect some 10 percent of the Korean people, and they will not be left alone to suffer financial loss.
It is natural that the higher the gross national income, the slower national economic growth becomes. The country’s economy is in the process of transforming itself from input-led growth to an innovation-driven model.
It is important for the nation to enhance the social environment so that it will promote the economic environment on a sustained, long-term basis. The Administration’s strategy envisages cutting inefficiency and creating new opportunities by bringing about durable peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Regarding labor-management relations, the National Assembly has already passed an advanced roadmap and a viable system is now in place. Labor-management affairs are becoming smoother and stabilized by a decrease in labor disputes and turmoil. It is my hope that management will engage in labor affairs with a future-oriented mind.
We should follow the path toward a democratic welfare society by pursuing growth and welfare simultaneously on a solid democratic footing.
By resolving matters concerning operation of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, the country will be able to reap countless benefits; the inter-Korean project will help raise the nation’s sovereign credit rating, give small and medium-sized industries more opportunities, and reduce the costs of reunifying the homeland.
Right now, Cheong Wa Dae is working as hard as it was in the first year of my term. It is time that every citizen should keep walking with deep insight into the nation’s future instead of seeking to reap immediate benefits.
웹사이트: http://www.president.go.kr
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2008년 8월 6일 17:22
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