'Empty' promises

By Park Yoon-bae

Koreans have often said cynically that most campaign pledges made by politicians are all but “empty” promises.

Candidates running for elected posts usually come up with a series of sugar-coated promises to woo voters. Once elected, they tend to renege on their commitments too easily and too soon.

The problem is that politicians make promises that cannot be kept so they usually run the risk of losing trust by betraying what they said. It goes without saying that promise-breaking behavior is an act of cheating.

Now, people are paying keen attention to whether new President Park Geun-hye will keep her campaign promises faithfully or not.

They hope that she, as the nation’s first female President, will make good on her campaign pledges to promote national harmony and make people happy.

They also want Park to be a leader who is very different from her predecessors, who neglected implementing what they promised during their campaigns.

Expectations of Park are high not least because she has been described as a “politician of principle.” However, there is a telltale sign she might be no better than her predecessors who talked big but did little.

Before her inauguration on Feb. 25, some pundits called on Park to define the difference between what she could do and what she could not, given that it is almost impossible for her to keep 100 percent of her promises.

They apparently believe it would be better for Park not to waste time and energy on clinging to unrealistic promises. This may even sound like an excuse to break her promises.

To the dismay of the public, Park has already begun to renege on her campaign promises after only one month in office.

People still vividly remember she repeatedly said on her campaign trail that she would keep her promises without fail. Did she lie to the people in the blind pursuit of her presidential ambition?

Disgruntled voters may feel betrayed, while others may try to find comfort in saying she is doing her best to keep her promises.

Either way, Park cannot deflect criticism for putting words before action, although it is too early to evaluate her achievements or failures.

One of her key campaign promises was to provide 200,000 won ($180) as an old age pension to all senior citizens aged 65 and older, whether they are wealthy or poor. That is part of her welfare programs.

However, the Park administration has tentatively decided to give the elderly different amounts of pension, depending on their pension benefits from the National Pension Service. That decision is designed to reduce the overall old age pension benefits amid budgetary constraints.

Another case in point is her promise to let the National Health Insurance Corp. cover all medical bills for patients suffering from four major grave illnesses, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Now, the government is moving to force those patients to foot part of their medical bills in order to ease the financial burden on the health insurance.

What is more serious is her appointment of Cabinet ministers and heads of government agencies. Before her election, Park promised to select ministers and agency chiefs based on their performance, careers and integrity.

Such a pledge was aimed at preventing the chief executive from naming only her confidants or henchmen to high public posts, as was seen in the appointments of former President Lee Myung-bak.

Regrettably, Park seems to be repeating the mistake of her predecessor. She is now being slammed for her arrogant and go-it-alone leadership style. She needs to change that so as to better reflect people’s aspirations for a new leadership and new politics.

Last October, Park promised to guarantee the two-year term for the police chief to advocate political neutrality for the law enforcement agency.

However, she has nominated Lee Sung-han, head of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, to replace Kim Ki-yong, commissioner general of the National Police Agency.

The nomination came 14 months before Kim’s two-year term is due to expire in May 2014. That not only runs counter to Park’s promise but also undermines the independence of the police.

Keeping promises is a starting for building confidence. Therefore, Park had better be more faithful to putting her key campaign commitments, if not all, into action.

We hope she will bring drastic change to the old politics mired in partisan struggles, corruption, lies and skullduggery. Her success as president will depend on how she gains the people’s trust.