Achieve another Korean miracle in 2013

Park Jae-sang, aka rapper Psy, who looks like a typical South Korean, said in his megahit "Gangnam Style," “Beautiful, Lovely/ Yeh, You Hey Yeh, You Hey/Will I go as far as I can go.” He went as far as he could go with his horse-riding dance beyond Asia to Europe, Latin America and Australia. The year 2013 is the Year of the Snake under the Chinese zodiac. Psy was born in 1977, the last Year of the Snake before 2013, and opened a new chapter in K-pop with his hit, which became the first YouTube video to record a billion views. Poet Kim Ji-ha said, “Koreans, who are full of resentment, create the Korean Wave when they get excited.” Psy, who mixed the characteristics of South Koreans of feeling easily attached to other people and playing hard with YouTube, was catapulted into the global limelight and is now a symbol of his country`s competitiveness in the globalized world

Looking back, South Koreans have always made wise decisions. Presidents from Rhee Syngman, who blocked communism and laid the groundwork for a free democracy, to Roh Moo-hyun, who implemented the concept of balanced development, fulfilled what the times demanded, albeit making a few mistakes. Outgoing President Lee Myung-bak also will leave a legacy of overcoming the global financial crisis. His successor Park Geun-hye, who will be inaugurated Feb. 25, will have to deal with national integration, a new task of the times.

In the last presidential election, supporters of the conservative candidate Park and those of the liberal candidate Moon Jae-in were split 52 percent to 48 percent. Conservatives should not brag about their victory because their candidate won. Though the liberal candidate lost, he got more votes than any previous winner of the election. Conservatives should remember that this indicates more people want reform and change. They should reflect on if they stayed complacent by indulging in privilege, being indifferent to the socially marginalized, and putting authority and practice before self-innovation. Liberals impressively pulled their power together, but must stop their black-and-white thinking and self-righteousness. Then they can create a new paradigm for national development. If reformist conservatives and rational liberals row a boat by conducting checks and balances together, they could navigate through the rough waters of a turbulent world.

The first year of the term of President-elect Park, who is South Korea`s first female president and first to gain a majority of votes, will be critical in that it could determine the success of her five-year presidency. If the people utilize wisdom and energy, they can achieve a miracle. Park should change politics as usual by caring for something she missed and paid little attention to in her election campaign so that she can get closer to the people, who want new politics.

Her first litmus test will be personnel appointments. For national integration, she should root out deep-rooted regionalism and cronyism and nip crony capitalism in the bud. No president can resolve everything over his or her term. Park should focus on a bigger picture so that historians can later call her administration as a “government for ordinary people” or "government of unification.” Social integration can be accomplished only when politics fixes and cares for the weak parts of the social fabric, which comprises different regions, ideologies and generations.

The South Korean economy has been stagnant since 2007, when it achieved per capita income of 20,000 U.S. dollars. The gloomy forecast for this year is that growth will stay around 3 percent. The country is at a crossroads between taking a leap forward and remaining stagnant. Structural reform is needed to help catapulted it into the global limelight. If it responds with speedy management typical of Koreans and creative globalization, domestic manufacturing can enjoy another renaissance.

The U.S. and other developed economies are seeking a third industrial revolution, with the “industrial Internet” creating new value by merging the hardware of industry with software and the Internet. A new South Korean model that can stun the world again can be the “Gangnam Style" of business, a merger of science and technology and IT with industries like "bibimbap," or Korean rice with spicy mixed vegetables. “Gangnam Style” went viral on YouTube because the entertainment industry was merged with the Internet. President-elect Park has suggested a blueprint for a “creative economy” that involves using the Internet in all industries, ranging from agriculture to manufacturing and services, and maximizing production and value. If the country can foster world-class talent and let a creative merged workforce operate in a flexible working environment, this can overcome low growth and birth rates and the rapidly aging population, not to mention create more jobs.

For structural reform, companies, labor, academia, the government, and civic groups should reach a consensus in sharing the pain. Last year, South Korea became the seventh member of the “20-50 club, or a country with a population of 50 million and per capita income of 20,000 dollars. If the focus is on bashing global South Korean companies who show stellar performance in the global market such as Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor in the name of "economic democratization," the country will find it hard to go from the 20-50 club to the "30-50 club," or a group of countries with a population of 50 million each and per capita income of 30,000 dollars.

Ireland shares the characteristics of deep sorrow, fever for education, and a fragmented labor movement history with South Korea, and serves as a model for social treaty. In 1987, Ireland had its first treaty on national reconstruction signed by labor, management and government to overcome an economic crisis, ultimately becoming a "Celtic tiger." The Irish economy surpassed that of its former colonial master the U.K. Though Ireland later had to accept a bailout from the International Monetary Fund in 2010 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the country is still considered to have overcome the crisis through a social partnership agreement to last through 2015. South Korea can also achieve a tripartite accord as Ireland did.

To increase the rate of potential GDP growth to more than 4 percent, deregulation is needed to invigorate corporate investment and create a flexible job market. Social leaders should practice noblesse oblige and not assume the attitude of winner-takes-all. Social safety nets should elaborately formed, including job training and placement and income support, to help people left behind regain their confidence. If President-elect Park shows sincerity in her efforts to help low-income people, the public will believe her. The miracle of the Han River was achieved through such a sincere attitude.

Along with the launch of new administrations in the U.S., China and Japan, the three major countries heavily related to the Korean Peninsula, China is leading the creation of a new international landscape with the relative decline of the U.S. North Korea has test-fired a long-range missile, and its young leader Kim Jong Un is struggling. Yet the North is considering a third phase of nuclear development using condensed uranium ammunition.

South Korea was once a Japan wanna-be, but the latter no longer leads the world. The British magazine Economist in a recent issue said trade is the only way for advanced economies to grow without fearing a bubble economy and fiscal deficit, adding Japan should enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership if it is worried about the severity of its domestic issues. Expanding free trade is a means to boost both economic growth and diplomacy for national security.

With new leaders of neighboring countries absorbed in domestic issues, South Korea should now take the lead in inter-Korean issues. President-elect Park should sincerely respond to calls for cooperation from the new leaders of the U.S., China, Japan and Russia for Korean reunification and ultimately for peace in East Asia. Making an imposing voice in this transition period can help South Korea take the initiative in crisis periods, including any sudden changes in North Korea.

Poet Moon Jeong-hui wrote in a poem, "Some people say the world is a cold place, but others say the world is a battlefield and desert. However, I feel a hand as warm as the sun in spring. I call this peace." South Korea in 2013 needs this warm hand.