During his five-year term, Lee is expected to emphasize economic revitalization through deregulation and market-friendly reforms, improve people’s lives through job creation and educational reform, increase incentives for foreign investors and streamline the public sector.
The economic revitalization drive will be the centerpiece of the Lee government’s policies. Lee plans to exploit sources of new economic growth to carry out his "747" campaign pledge, which calls for attaining 7 percent annual economic growth, increasing per capita income to US$40,000 and making Korea the world’s seventh-largest economy in a decade.
While seeking to improve the investment environment for domestic enterprises, the Lee government is expected to come up with a package of investment incentives and deregulation that will attract investments from abroad.
Lawmakers of Lee’s conservative Grand National Party and local political experts say that pragmatism will be the dominating philosophy in the Lee government’s management of state affairs and diplomacy, as the former Hyundai CEO and Seoul mayor repeatedly promised in his campaign to become a "CEO-style" president who would revitalize the nation’s economy.
"Without changes, national prosperity and new economic growth can hardly be attained. After 60 years of national existence, industrialization and democratization, we now must march forward to become an advanced country. This is the need of the times imposed on the Lee Myung-bak government," Lee said in a recent public address, referring to the 60th anniversary in 2008 of the founding of the nation.
"Advancement of the economy and improvement in the quality of life should proceed in parallel. Benefits from new economic growth must be given to ordinary people and the middle class."
According to a list of 21 strategic policy goals adopted by his transition team, the Lee administration will also put top priority on foreign and security policy in creating a new peace regime on the Korean Peninsula through its denuclearization.
Lee will push to help North Korea raise its per capita income to US$3,000 in a decade and resolve pending inter-Korean humanitarian issues, following its denuclearization and market opening.
Lee’s government will also strive for creative development of South Korea-U.S. relations by further cementing the strategic alliance, while beefing up the country’s resource and energy diplomacy.
The president-elect, a champion of small and efficient government, aims to cut the government’s budget spending by 10 percent, revamp bureaucratic society and root out corruption in his list of priority policies.
To honor his campaign pledges to create environment-friendly economic and energy structures, Lee promised to build a cross-country waterway and a new nationwide ecosystem as well as map out comprehensive measures to counter climate change.
Regarding North Korea, the new government will significantly heighten transparency in the spending of the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund in line with Lee’s plan to link economic aid to the North to its denuclearization.
Other policy tasks to be pursued by Lee include the establishment of global energy networks with oil-producing countries, expansion of free trade agreements with the nation’s major trading partners and the improvement of military welfare.
In social areas, the key policy tasks include stricter enforcement of the law, improvement of the fiscal soundness of provincial governments, strengthening English education at public schools, reforming the college-entrance exam system, expanding pension benefits for the elderly and creating more jobs for youth and women.
In terms of the economy, the priority tasks include the easing of rules restricting top conglomerates’ equity investment in banks, the improvement of the financial system related to small businesses and reducing energy and communication expenses, said Lee’s transition committee.
In addition, Lee’s new government will enforce massive tax cuts and deregulation to help revive corporate investment and attract more foreign investors in its bid to raise the annual economic growth rate to 7 percent and create 3 million new jobs.
"The Lee government has to put priority on a free market economy and taking better care of the underprivileged," said Kwak Seung-jun, a Korea University professor who has been appointed as Lee’s policy planning secretary.
"Conglomerates and the wealthy should be subject to fewer regulations and allowed to move forward, while the new government has to pay more attention to the poor and credit delinquents," Kwak said, referring to the policy as a "warm market economy."
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Origin of story & photo : Government Information Agency
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