Make Haste Slowly

South Korean president-elect Lee Myung-bak said at his first press conference yesterday, “I will open a new chapter by lifting the economy to another level while enhancing the living standard.” His successful reading of the public’s mind seemed to have led to a landslide victory with a vote gap of 5,310,000. The Roh administration ignored the hopes and requests of people and wasted time with its own reform. As a result, it was defeated in the election.

Lee should correct all the wrongdoings by the Roh administration in the economy, education, diplomacy, inter-Korean relations, and the legal order. There are numerous tasks that the new administration should address: the shrinking job market; high youth unemployment rates; the ever-widening income gap; people’s insecurity for the future; the slowdown of economic momentum; weak investment; balanced regional development in name-only; and the government budget deficit.

Moreover, Lee should deal with urgent issues such as reforming Korea’s pension plan and public sector, and preparations for our aging society. In the short term, rising prices for next year and the unstable financial market are other concerns.

Experts point out that South Korea’s financial market is likely to be affected by the subprime crisis.

Lee, who claims that he is the “president for the economy,” may want to tackle these tricky issues right away to show that he serious about reviving the economy. An old saying says: make haste slowly. As principles and consistency matter in the economy, now is the time for him to set the basic principles under which businesses and households are able to expect what is coming next. At the same time, his policies should be logical.

However ideological policies might be, they should never be adopted if they do not make sense or are inefficient. If the promises he made include improper ones, they should be dropped. The Roh administration showed good examples: punitive real estate policies, nominal job creation sponsored by taxpayers’ money, and balanced regional development in name-only by making “new cities” using administrative power and taxes.

The president-elect said, “I will create momentum for development based on creativity.” This is the challenge that the Korean economy is now facing. He should make fundamental rules rather than finding specific solutions to every sector, because people are not spectators, they are actors in reviving the economy.