[Editorial] Rise Up Again, Korea

A new year has come. The reality this country and its people are facing however appears to be a thorny path or a minefield where even a single step forward is not predictable. There are too many risk factors to put the livelihood of the people and the economy on a safe course. A way out of this vicious circle has yet to be seen. The state of diplomatic affairs -- tensions over the North Korean development of nuclear warheads, and the deterioration of the Korea-U.S. alliance – did not calm down. Rather, it keeps weighing on us more heavily. The government and political leaders, who should collectively respond to these tough issues, have exposed their lack of morality and leadership and intensified the conflict and confrontation. The sense of a crisis is on the rise with a feeling that the country will become one of all broken dreams, not one of all living well together if things are left as they are now.

However, the Republic of Korea and the Koreans cannot give up. If we crumble now we will have to suffer from self-degradation; we will be humiliated, overlooked and pained by the rest of the world as good-for-nothing Koreans. If this is not acceptable, the disorientation on a national scale must end. The people should get up again and overcome the current crisis, preparing for another leap. We are the ones who worked the Miracle on the Han River. We are the ones who experienced with the power of becoming one in the 1988 Olympics and the World Cup 2002.

The nation needs to be cool-hearted when the fate of the country is at a crossroads. The corruption of President Roh’s entourage and other politicians should be treated according to the law. However, this must not hold the entire nation hostage. The prosecution and the special prosecutor should justly bring the whole truth of the corruption to light. Those implicated in the corruption should be brought to the justice of the court and the vote. Although he does not face impeachment, President Roh should be responsible for the irregularities. In this way, the people and politicians alike should see the doomed consequences of corrupt politics and create institutions and practices that cut the persistent collusion of money and politics. This should be the first step in revamping the national discipline. .

Among the most important things we lost last year was national discipline. Legal institutions, principles, as well as order, crumbled. While criticizing each other for corruption, we are all accomplices in the wrongdoings. The irrationality that judges between good and evil by power has been taken for granted. The regime, with its control over the legislative power and policy-making, shook the authority of the legislature to the core, instead of eliminating authoritarianism. It fermented a social mood that does not respect law and principle. By flouting the rule of law and the logic of the free market, economic uncertainty increased. If the regime and politicians could have held on to the rule of law and safeguarded the authority of the law, it could have reduced losses caused by illegal collective actions and have revitalized the economy. Now is the time to revamp the order and the constitutional principle of the free market through the rule of law, not by the computer buzzword-driven code of taking sides or making irrational demands.

The 17th National Assembly elections scheduled for April are a national turning point. If voters do not choose to break the outmoded political framework, this will further delay revamping the nation. Needless to say President Roh is held heavily responsible for the elections, but the Grand National Party also needs to repent deeply and cleanse itself of errors. Voters should also use the elections to give rise to a new sound political force.

Along with attempts at revamping the national discipline, the New Year should be a turning point for revitalizing the economy. The economy should run as it is supposed to run. Amid the disputes, divisions and political rivalry, national resources were squandered, the economy and the livelihood of the people got stranded, and the national potential for economic growth plunged. Apart from exports, the economy became mired in a vicious cycle of a lack of policy, labor disputes, a slump in investment, consumption as well as employment, household deficits, a credit card crunch, the recession, social unrest and uncertainty in the future

The new government should have stopped zigzagging, and should have taken a consistent measure of management-labor issues in order to improve investment and corporate competitiveness. It also should have shaken bureaucratic regulations on corporations. It should have reacted more promptly to the credit card crunch. If it did just that, it could have eased the hollowization of industry, the cuts in jobs and financial uncertainty

However important the electoral victory may be to them, President Roh and other political leaders should not shake the economy for that purpose. They must not make campaign pledges at the cost of the economy to lure votes. They must not fan NIMBY sentiments to win the elections. It is the people and the economy who should shoulder the burdens of such pledges. The government must concentrate its resources on eliminating major factors that shun international investors. When Korea is less attractive as an investment, it is no use to ask them to invest in the country. Most of all, the government must add high value-added jobs.

All players in the economy need to maintain the perspective of national interest. Corporations must take initiative in innovation, corporate transparency and investment for the future. Labor unions must stop fighting just for their own interests and politicizing the labor movement. We all can survive when we put the role we should play ahead of the individual interest we want to keep. It is the people with whom the power to change the nation lies. We all should be parts of the unity, instead of accomplices in disputes and conflicts. Squandering national resources should be stopped and replaced with revamping them. Let’s make the day arrive soon when being Korean engenders pride and happiness.