Does Park Geun-hye have an economic vision?

The Chinese economy, the major engine of global economic growth, is expected to see growth slow to below 8 percent this year. The prospects of Korea`s economy are also discouraging and expected to fall below 2 percent this year. An economic slowdown is a reality whose impact will be long lasting. Yet Korea`s presidential candidates, who will lead the Korean economy over the next five years if elected, lack an economic vision.

Global credit rating agencies Moody`s and Fitch, both of which recently upgraded Korea`s sovereign rating, urged the Korean economy to do better. They said a further upgrade is possible if the debt risks of state-owned companies and households are tempered, adding that Korea can devise better measures to ease the negative impact of the aging population on the potential growth rate and public finance. The Korean political sector`s perception of the economy, however, shows a huge gap with what the public feels and what foreign critics are saying. With the presidential election less than 100 days away, no candidate has announced a trustworthy diagnosis and measures to resolve structural economic problems including high youth unemployment, rapidly aging population, sluggish investment and consumption, and record-high household debt.

While opposition parties can partially escape criticism as they have yet to nominate presidential candidates, the ruling Saenuri Party, which has selected Park Geun-hye as its standard-bearer, has no room for further excuses. Saenuri members are struggling over the topic of "economic democratization," wasting time that could otherwise be spent on presenting an economic vision and persuading the public. The Youido Institute, the party`s think tank, held a policy discussion Tuesday, where ruling party members reflected on themselves. Participants said things like "Economic democratization can weaken corporate investment and vitality," and "Discussions are focusing only on the governance structure of large companies." What was discussed here, however, was different from reform bills on large companies, including a ban on cross-shareholdings that the party`s progressive members took to the table. The ruling party seems to have no chance to persuade the public on economic democratization with such conflicting opinions.

Economic democratization bills that focus on attacking large companies is no cure for the Korean economy, which is in a chaotic state. The economy is holding out because large companies are faring well in overseas markets despite adverse external conditions. Instead of being mired in economic democratization matters, the government must present alternatives including job creation and other measures. Park Geun-hye pledged to make "a country where people`s dreams come true" and to "shift the power to operate national affairs from the nation to the people." She has to keep a balance and come up with answers to pending economic problems from the people`s perspective. The public wants realistic measures such as job and income creation rather than abstract political disputes on economic democratization.