Pres. office delays sale of gov`t stake in Incheon airport

The presidential office is known not to be pushing for the sale of Incheon International Airport Corp. until President Lee Myung-bak`s presidential term ends early next year.

Strategy and Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan, however, reiterated his will to get the stake sale done, saying, "We will finalize it after consulting major state affairs with the National Assembly." Yet opposition parties and even members of the ruling Saenuri Party are opposed to Bahk`s move, saying the matter should be discussed after the next administration is inaugurated.

A key figure at the presidential office told a Dong-A Ilbo reporter, "It`s difficult to come up with visible measures on the sale of the Incheon airport stake. Simply put, the sale of the stake this year will be difficult within this year."

The presidential office had adhered to the principle of dealing with major national affairs one at a time based on level of difficulty.

Another presidential office source said, "The National Assembly needs to pass a related law to sell the government stake in Incheon airport. But with the presidential election at the end of the year, it will be difficult to discuss large policy issues within the year." The initial public offering law has not yet been passed by parliament for the sale of the government`s 49-percent share of the airport.

Despite Bahk`s announcement, the presidential office`s plan not to pursue the stake sale within President Lee`s term, is because of lack of cooperation from the political circle.

Key forces loyal to Park Geun-hye, the ruling party’s leading presidential candidate, including party floor leader Hwang Woo-yeo, its policy committee chief Jin Young and Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun, oppose the stake sale. This could mean that the party concluded that an excess push for the sale would not be feasible. Selling the share before the presidential election could provide negative election campaigning against the main opposition party.

The presidential office and the government are acutely sensitive over the ruling party`s moves. Saenuri blasted the military intelligence deal with Japan that was kept secret, which led to Seoul nixing the accord with Tokyo. Kwak Seung-joon, head of the Presidential Council for Future and Vision and a key aide to President Lee, told Dong-A, "I appreciate the will to finalize major national affairs, but time matters. It is difficult to promote matters at the end of a presidential term when it should have been promoted from the beginning."

The presidential office will give its stake in the Incheon airport but will continue stressing the need for the sale to upgrade Korea`s public institutions to global standards. A source said, "As the sale could take at least a year, we will persuade the people first by listening to public opinion."

ddr@donga.com