elect Pragmatist Embraces Diversity
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
A pragmatist point of view is distinctive in Grand National Party (GNP) presidential nominee Lee Myung-bak's policy visions for education, diplomacy, the economy, and society.
Lee said the government will be faced with the need for effective policy responses to the number of foreign residents in Korea in the near future as the population will continue to grow.
In an interview with The Korea Times to mark the newspaper's 57th anniversary Saturday, the former mayor of Seoul said he would embrace diversity in his policies as the current policy vacuum could lead the nation to face a social problems in near future.
Lee said that the growth of the foreign population in the country is a combined result of workforce shortages in the manufacturing sector, the low birth rate and ageing society.
Korea saw a rapid growth in ethnic minority groups and their families over the past 15 years.
The increase of mixed race families in the country was caused by two major factors _ an increase of interracial marriages in rural areas and an influx of foreign workers in the manufacturing sector over the past decade.
According to the Korea International Labor Foundation (KILF), the number of foreign workers in Korea reached 162,193 in May 2007.
A KILF official told The Korea Times that about half of them (83,583) are involved in the manufacturing sector.
KILF research found that 1 out of 10 newly married couples in agricultural areas were interracial marriages.
It noted that 41 percent of the male population engaged in the agriculture and fishery industry married foreign females in 2006, up 5.1 percent from the previous year.
``The mixed race families are facing many challenges in rearing their children mainly because of a lack of tailored educational services and support policies,'' Lee said.
If these children are left behind in class as a result of the policy vacuum, the government will be faced with new social problems in the future, he said.
Lee pledged that he would establish divisions both in central and local governments to provide support services for children from these families.
Strong Public Education
In his vision for education, Lee said that the collapse of public education has resulted in soaring private education fees and only wealthy families can afford to meet the cost of surging private education.
``The consequence is that only children from the upper-class can benefit from quality tutoring programs,'' Lee said.
He pledged to build boarding high schools in rural areas so that children from lower income families can also get quality secondary school programs.
``Smart children from low-income families will not be left behind and instead they will be provided with an equal opportunity to attend top universities,'' he said.
Lee said that the significance of English skill is ever more important than before in an era of globalization.
He made the point that a difference in English skills could result in income disparity.
``I will strengthen public education so that every Korean can freely communicate with foreigners in English,'' he said.
Lee said he will put an English-friendly atmosphere in place in this country to help citizens practice and command English without difficulty.
``I am planning to introduce English-only classes in school by training English teachers to have a high level of speaking skills. I also plan to expand the English-only classes into other classes in upper grades of elementary schools,'' he said.
He pledged to tackle deepening social polarization because it could generate a vicious circle of poverty unless no precautionary measures were taken.
His social policy took a different path from his rival Chung Dong-young of the United New Democratic Party (UNDP): Lee plans to link welfare to work.
In-land Waterway Project
GNP strategists made it clear that they will include the contentious cross-country waterway project into Lee's presidential campaign vision that will be unveiled in a few days.
The waterway project is Lee's flagship pledge.
The pan-Korea waterway has caused him trouble as economists and environmentalists have raised questions as to whether the nation-wide development plan is feasible.
Economists point out that the massive land use plan goes against the ethos of a small government, while environmentalists make the point that building dams could destroy the ecosystem of neighboring areas to the waterway.
Despite the criticism, Lee has stood firm and has showed no sign of withdrawing his project so far.
Instead, he made a case against the criticism saying that foreign direct investment (FDI) will be attracted to the project and therefore it will not create a fiscal burden.
Lee also said that a green waterway project will improve water quality and the ecosystem.
``The pan-Korea waterway project is one that must be implemented in the next government to move the economy forward, no matter who takes power,'' he said.
Lee asked, ``Do you remember the late President Park Chung-hee was under attack as a sharp pros and cons debate was underway over the Seoul-Busan highway project when he proposed the land use plan?''
``It turned out that the highway has enabled the economy to see rapid economic growth over the last three decades by immensely reducing logistics costs,'' he said.
The presidential candidate said several times that the waterway plan will allow the economy to join advanced ones in the future.
Pro-Business Economic Vision
The presidential nominee is an advocate of tax-cuts and trusts in the power of growth to affect all of society.
``Transparency in taxation is one of the primary goals that I would like to achieve during my tenure, if elected president. I will cut corporate and income taxes to help businesses create more jobs,'' he said.
Economists have made the point that empirical studies found that upper class families tend to benefit more from tax cuts than lower class ones.
Lee said his plan for tax cuts is designed for lower income families
``I am planning to expand tax deductions for education and medical insurance fees for working class citizens. And I will also adjust tax rates on gasoline and real estate,'' he said.
According to Lee, once transparency is in place in the tax system, businesses are highly likely to prosper and the lower income families will pay less tax.
These positive results will help make the economy prosper, he said.
He was skeptical about giving positive comments about the legacy of President Roh Moo-hyun, saying the administration has been ineffective as it failed to achieve high economic growth over its term when the global economic outlook was pretty good.
He said the government's redistribution policy was also questionable, too.
``The President said his government will work for working class families. But ironically these families' lives have been worsened since he took power in 2002 and as a result social polarization has deepened during his rule,'' he said.
The former mayor of Seoul said that the self-proclaimed pro-working class Roh administration has undermined social integration during its tenure.
Real estate policy failed under the incumbent government and the national debt hit a record high.
The consequence of the mismanagement of the nation's economy has increased household burdens by increasing taxes.
According to Lee, the youth unemployment rate hit 8 percent, and the combined effect of deepened social polarization, low birth rate and ageing society held back the economy.
``Growth is the key to resolve all these problems. Prosperity will create jobs and help the government expand its social safety net. Growth will also help the nation achieve reunification, '' he said.
Lee was dismissive regarding the skepticism that achieving 7 percent of annual economic growth is unfeasible. He said that his three-point pledge of 7 percent of annual economic growth, $ 40,000 of per capita income and the seventh largest economy in the world is not a rosy plan as his opponents have said.
Foreign Policy
Lee said that he will place a priority on foreign policy in balancing the national interest with the economy.
Previously, he said that pragmatism is a core goal in his vision for foreign policy and diplomacy, meaning that building diplomatic relations with other countries should be based on mutual interest and economic benefits.
Lee supported the troop deployment extension in Iraq because, he believes, it will help build solid bilateral relations with the oil-rich country.
He pledged he will bolster the Korea-U.S. alliance if elected president and the goal of strengthening relations with the U.S. is to make the economy better off.
``The bilateral relationship has played a pivotal role in maintaining a stable security environment on the Korean peninsula over the last five decades. And I believe the alliance will continue to play such a critical role in the future,'' he said.
Lee said, he will seek a future-oriented alliance with the U.S. that will serve the best interest of the two countries in the forthcoming decades.
``If the Korean economy grows further and becomes the seventh largest economy in the world as I envisioned, this country should find an alternative diplomacy model that stresses the greater role of Korea in the international community.''
He observed that the government should expand ties with the neighboring countries of China, Japan and Russia.