Kim's challenges for New Year

SEOUL: President Kim Dae-jung outlined his policies for the New Year in a press conference on Thursday. As expected, the discussions at the news conference focused on the difficulties facing the national economy and the President pledged to place top priority on improving the economic situation. Rather than revealing new programs, however, the President tried to explain how he intends to get the nation back on track following the political, economic and social confusion prevailing since late last year.

But he was firm and determined on political matters. He emphasized the supremacy of the judicial system and the rule of law, hinting that he had no intention to seek a political compromise in settling the problem of misappropriated funds of the state intelligence agency for the election campaigns of the then ruling party politicians.

The President highlighted the importance of restoring the public's faith and reducing anxiety about the economy, indicating that current public perceptions on the economy are partly psychological. "We can make it. Let's have confidence in ourselves. An excessive sense of crisis can bring about a real crisis by contracting sales of goods and investment and accelerating the slump in the stock market," he told the press representatives.

Kim acknowledged, however, that the failure to complete a thorough and swift completion of reforms in the four major sectors had led to the current economic difficulties. He presented three priority areas for this year to address these failures including completion of the ongoing restructuring in the financial, corporate, public and labor sectors. The President forecast that the nation would be able to achieve a 6 percent economic growth rate, a 3 percent inflation rate and a US$10 billion trade surplus this year.

Other noteworthy aspects of this year's presidential news conference were Kim's criticisms of the media and his pledge to correct imbalances in the appointment of officials to important positions. He said he would introduce sweeping changes to the current personnel management policy as a means of achieving "grand national unity." But he openly expressed his dissatisfaction with the media, saying that pressure was mounting for reform in the media. The President called on news organizations to report in a fair and responsible manner.

Kim's perceptions of current political affairs, however, seemed to be far removed from those of the public's. He provided no indication of how he intends to resolve the current hiatus between the ruling and opposition camps. Rather, he tried to justify the joining of four lawmakers of his Millennium Democratic Party with the splinter United Liberal Democrats (ULD), by complaining that instability in politics was the key factor causing the economic difficulties and social disorder. He pledged to consolidate an alliance with the ULD in order to solve the "problem."

With his presidency almost in its fourth year, President Kim has been hailed by many for his successful economic policies that have rescued this country from the disastrous financial crisis of three years ago. But at the same time, more citizens than ever have been losing their former trust in this government. What is clearly required of the President at the moment is his continuous and intensive pursuit of ongoing restructuring programs in the four major sectors. The President's news conference should provide the impetus that the government needs to recover public confidence. To achieve this, however, requires President Kim and his officials to devise and implement realistic and consistent policies.

At the same time, President Kim needs to bear in mind that the extreme confusion now observed in the nation's political milieu is adding to the public's concerns about the future of this nation. During the press conference, Kim accused the party of former President Kim Young-sam of having achieved a parliamentary majority by inviting 22 lawmakers from other parties to join it. He even claimed that the party is, therefore, not qualified to criticize the recent defection of the four ruling party lawmakers to the ULD. Wrong practices in the past of course cannot be used to justify the similar practices in the present day and age. Moreover, President Kim must be aware that the people's expectations of him, as a respected former opposition leader, are much higher than those of his predecessors.

-- The Korea Herald/Asia News Network