President Roh Moo Hyun named Han Duck Soo as the country's new Deputy Prime Minister for Finance and Economy on Monday. Han has been the head of the Prime Minister's Office for Government Policy Coordination. By all appearances it looks like Han was chosen after much agonizing over a situation where Roh had run out of options as the obvious candidates got disqualified one by one, and so for that reason we find reason to place hope in him. Still, there are concerns. We hope the new deputy prime minister is able to overcome the worries and fulfill the expectations.
Han has long extolled the importance of an economy open to foreign access. So much so, actually, that the fact he has done a lot of work in the area of commerce does not fully explain why. He played a big role in the signing of the FTA with Chile, and he has led calls for the signing of an investment agreement with the US and a reduction in "screen quotas." He has been criticized in some quarters for thinking that believes openness solves everything. He is suspected by some to have covered up parts of the garlic negotiations with China. Some also note that for the captain of the government's economic team he is somewhat lacking in expertise in the area of tax and finance. Those are not concerns that should be thought of lightly.
One hopes he is able to put on a good performance and makes the concerns seem in retrospect like insignificant worries. Making that happen will require that he keep the embers of economic recovery alive and set the economy on a stable course of growth. It goes without saying that he needs to resist the temptation to use unreasonable stimulation measures and make sure there is not another speculative real estate investment craze. He especially needs to spend energy on the corporate and financial reform that has not seen any significant progress since the start of the Roh government, and on resolving the extreme economic disparity in our society. There needs to be ample progress in those areas for Korea to enjoy an "advanced economy." Making sure that the tone of policy does not slant towards further opening will also be very important. He needs to remember how that would lead to massive social conflict. At the very least, he needs to affirm the principle that market opening and reform kept in balance. Finally there must also be serious dialogue with parties that are reform-oriented.
The Hankyoreh, 15 March 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Hopes and Concerns about Han Duck Soo |
