It is citizens that end up paying hefty price for unlikable politics

Those who have worked at Cheong Wa Dae under the former administrations agree that the government and the ruling party have many options in previous elections. With no exception, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration seems eager to churn out weighty policies almost every day, with the 22nd general elections three months away.

At this year’s opening ceremony for the Korea Exchange, President Yoon made a surprising policy announcement that he would find ways to abolish the financial investment income tax with 14 million stock traders in mind. A few days later, the president pledged to remove extra insurance premiums charged on cars and reduce premiums on houses to lessen the burden of district subscribers, including senior citizens. He also announced that the government will seek to expand the range of small-scale businesses subject to simplified taxation that allows for a lower value-added tax from an annual revenue of 80 million won to 100 million won.

It is no news to South Korean citizens that the government promotes tempting policies it arguably dubs “measures designed for the livelihoods of the public.” Just several days before the April 15 general elections in 2020, the Moon Jae-in administration made an unprecedented decision to give out disaster relief money to every single citizen, arguing that it aimed to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, the consequences of which had not been figured out yet. As a result, the relief money failed to serve its purpose, given that it was often said that a sum of one million won distributed per family of four ended up being spent on dining out at a Korean beef joint, for example. Although the measure was criticized as yet another representation of vote buying, the elections ended up with a landslide victory in favor of the ruling party, showing how effectively it worked out.

There is only a slight difference between the former administration’s disaster relief fund and the incumbent one’s series of policies arguably designed for people's livelihoods given that the former gives out cash and the latter lessens tax burdens. From the perspective of economic logic, it may be better to cut back taxes while tightening the belt rather than distributing cash support, leading to greater government debt and inflation. There is a price to pay when policies are improvised swiftly. Policies such as abolishing the financial investment income tax or expanding those subject to simplified taxation, not even part of the presidential pledge, will erode the fundamental principle that any source of income is unexceptionally taxed and damages government fiscal soundness. Likewise, the plan to reduce health insurance premiums for district subscribers will put upward pressure on the premiums that all the subscribers as a whole have to pay.

There seems to be no reason to push forward with the policies to which even relevant ministers struggle to provide logical explanations except for President Yoon’s low approval rating, which hovers in the 30 percent range. The specter of the latest presidential election, dubbed the most unlikeable election in history, may affect the upcoming general elections. If President Yoon had constantly improved his approval rating to over 50 percent, he would not have felt the need to improvise policies that would come with costs. Added to this, the recent controversy over First Lady Kim Keon Hee, which chips away at the presidential approval rating even by a slight degree, may have been a burden on the shoulders of government policymakers.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan were among the most successful U.S. Presidents who made significant reforms to the nation thanks to their widespread popularity regardless of their political parties and ideologies. As they had come across likable leaders for a long time, it would have been easier for them to convince the public of the significance of political, economic, and social reforms and ask for patience and support. When will the day come when South Korean voters see likable political leaders who confidently ask them to willingly share the burden of reform, not those who anxiously seek popularity with immediate tricks?


Joong-Hyun Park sanjuck@donga.com