Once Unreined, Another Miracle Comes True

In South Korea, a public sector calls the shots and the private counterpart follows them. The dominating force of the public sector stems from the variety of regulations it has wielded over the business entities. Business leaders have repeatedly complained, “Regulations feed government workers and constitute the source of their power.” President-elect Lee Myung-bak must have felt the same for a long time, running big corporations as CEO.

At a conference hosted by the Maeil Business Newspaper, Lee stressed and criticized that the regulations have become the threat to the advance of our nation. If we let the private sector free from the government, we will achieve a lot. Unfortunately, the government hinders the favorable business conditions.” What Lee stressed is how the entire society is hampered by regulations and how Korean enterprisers have to confront low productivity and inconvenience.

At a private gathering, a business leader confessed recently, “The number of bureaucrats have increased administration after administration. They have never been downsized. It is about time to streamline the already super-fat government.” Faced with the harsh reform driven by the former private sector leader, the bureaucrats are waging a fierce resistance. Aware of the problem, Lee condemned publicly, “Some government workers force the businesses under their supervision to lobby the transition committee members for their survival. I’m tired of the old tactics.”

Korean business leaders plead for abolishment of various regulations to prevent the Korean manufacturers’ escape to overseas. Scholars and experts also agree that major industries like shipbuilding and steel manufacturing, in which the global community recognizes South Korea’s competitive edge, would enrich the country for 10-20 years to come without the bureaucratic hindrances.

A simple visit to an automated factory will disclose how fewer workers are hired. More jobs are created in the service sector than in the manufacturing field. An entrepreneur complains, “A 18-hole golf club creates more than 200 new jobs. But we have to get more than 1,000 permits to complete a club.” Without a dramatic overhaul, regulations will not dwindle.

Medical industry and education are also in dire need of a dramatic deregulation drive. It is unreasonable to prohibit creation of an incorporated for-profit hospital targeting the super-rich around the world. South Korea is renowned for its qualified medical specialists. Despite its status as the world’s 10th largest economy, only two South Korean universities, or Seoul National University (51st) and KAIST (132nd) are ranked among top 200 global schools. South Korean schools are notorious for transforming smart students into incompetent students. The Roh Moo-hyun administration has spent enormous amount of resources for the past five years on downgrading the quality of education in Korea by tightly reining the governance of universities. The downgrading efforts hit its pinnacle with the grade system of the Korean SAT, which caused a great confusion among students last year.

Yesterday, the presidential transition committee released its plan to completely deregulate college admissions policies through three stages. It’s the first of its kind in 40 years. The plan will pave a way for universities to conduct a complete autonomy, casting a huge historical meaning to the society. College education will determine the future of our country. Only when we get rid of the government’s grip on colleges, we will see our schools highly appraised by the global community.

Regulations have aggravated our national competitiveness, and the bureaucracy has spawned numerous regulations. We hope President-elect Lee abides by his original intent and determination and successfully finalize his plan to restructure the public sector. Lee recently said, “For the past one month, I looked into various corners of the national governance and government. I was shocked. We have so many unreasonable barriers and systems. But we have come this far. Once everything flows freely, we will surely work out another miracle.”