Lee and Chung: Different Policy Directions

Starting October 25, 16 experts in an ad-hoc advisory committee looked closely into 10 public pledges of presidential candidates Lee Myung-bak of the Grand National Party and Chung Dong-young of the United New Democratic Party regarding the economy, inter-Korean relations, education, diplomacy, taxes, and social welfare.

The analysis revealed that Lee is focusing on changing the main policy agenda of the current administration, while Chung is focusing on continuing them.

The committee quantified answers on a scale of one to five after checking the answers of three questions in foreign diplomacy and the economy, and two questions in social welfare and education. Answers close to one signal the inclination that the candidate will continue to follow in the footsteps of the current administration, while those close to five mean the candidate will take a different path from that.

The result shows that with the average score being 3.7, Lee will likely shift policy direction, while Chung’s point average was 1.7, meaning he will not change much from what the current administration is doing.

Lee scored a 4.3 on the current tax system and 4.3 for the “three-no’s” policy, meaning he would make changes in current economic and educational policies, but he would not make dramatic changes in inter-Korean relations and welfare, such as the Sunshine Policy (3.0) and welfare (2.7). Chung, in the meantime, will not deviate from the current administration line as his points averaged 1.3 on the Sunshine Policy, 1.5 on inter-Korean economic cooperation, including the expansion of the Gaesong Industrial Complex, 2.0 on his preference for big government, 1.7 on his welfare budget policy, and 1.5 on his education policy.

mindy@donga.com