Pace of Lee Gov`t`s Policy Implementation Lacking: Poll

Experts say the key economic and educational policies of the Lee Myung-bak administration are going in the right direction overall, but the pace of implementation was slow in the president’s first year.

The results of a survey released yesterday also found that most experts have reservations over President Lee’s capacity to manage crises.

The poll was conducted on Feb. 12-15 with 81 experts -- 30 in economics, 31 in politics, and 20 in education -- on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Lee administration by The Dong-A Ilbo.

In economics, the survey focused on nine key policies, including the streamlining of state-run companies, stimulation of investment and consumption through tax cuts, new labor-management relations, and the pace of their implementation.

The 30 economic experts gave 3.94 out of the maximum five points (one being the worst and five the best) for the direction of the nine economic policies, which is near the “good” grade of four points. They gave 2.86 points, however, for the pace of implementation, suggesting that the pace has failed to reach the “moderate (three-point) level.”

In education, the survey asked about the direction of six major policies, including the diversification of high school type, the disputed system for teacher performance evaluation, deregulation of the college entrance system, the addition of English into the national educational curriculum, and the pace of implementation.

Twenty educational experts gave 4.09 points for the direction of the policies. In contrast, they gave 3.13 points, or slightly higher than the “moderate” level, for the policies’ implementation over the past year.

In politics and leadership, the 31 political experts gave 2.77 points for President Lee’s “capacity to handle crises” in his first year in office.

A score of 3.23 points, just about the “normal” level, was given to President Lee’s “efforts for international collaboration and diplomacy with the four powers” aimed at resolving the global financial crisis and North Korean nuclear weapons program. His “capacity to present hope and vision” got just 2.88 points, however, and his “ability to unite the public” 2.21 points.