Korea in Focus
ethical standards by “purifying the upper reaches of the stream,” i.e., the
upper levels of government and society.
The main purpose of these reforms is to revitalize the nation and
elevate the overall standard of living. President Kim Young Sam has thus
pushed ahead with firm determination since his inauguration, bringing about
enormous changes in this country.
From the very start of his Administration, President Kim Young Sam
concentrated on eliminating corrupt practices and behavior which arose from
decades of authoritarian rule. This kind of housecleaning was unhead of in
the past. President Kim believes, and popular opinion supports him on this,
that such reform must be carried on without letting up in the interest of
the long-term stability and economic development of Korea.
The Concept of a New Korea
The creation of a New Korea means the building of unified, fully
mature democratic state. To that end, drastic changes and reforms are being
pursued to raise the quality of life for all those who were sacrificed in
the blind quest for rapid growth over the past 30-odd years.
What will the future New Korea be like? Korea’s first non-military
President since 1961, President Kim in his inaugural address said the New
Korea will be:
. A freer and more mature democratic society.
. A community where people share, work and live together in harmony. A
higher quality of life will flourish and the dignity of the individual
will be upheld.
. A state where justice flows like a river throughout the land. In other
words, it will be a just society in which honest and earnest individuals
live well.
. A new country in which human dignity is respected and culture is valued.
. A unified land where the presently divided people live in peace as one.
. And, it will stand tall and proud on the center stage of the civilized
world, making vital contributions to global peace and progress.
Curing the Korean Disease
The problems which are widespread in Korea today are often referred
to as the Korean disease: (1) Korean industriousness and ingenuity - long
the envy of the world - seem to be evaporating, (2) values continue to
erode, due to injustice, corruption, lethargy, bigotry, inertia, strife and
confrontation, and narrow self-interests, and (3) self-confidence has been
lost and defeatism has set in.
To create a New Korea, the new Administration has been vigorously
addressing these symptoms through drastic change and reform. The President
outlined the goals of these changes and reforms in his inaugural address:
(1) the establishment of a new era of courage and hope by shaking off
frustration and lethargy, (2) the replacement of bigotry and inertia with
openmindedness and vitality, strife and confrontation with dialogue and
cooperation, mistrust with trust, and (3) the building of a society which
sees all citizens not only living together but also truly carring about one
another, discarding narrow self-interests.
Three Tasks
The President outlined three essential tasks in his inaugural
address.
First, misconduct and corruption must be rooted out. He defined
misconduct and corruption as the most terrifying enemies attacking the
foundation of society, and called for an end to all manner of impropriety
and graft, allowing no sanctuary. He called for immediate reform starting
from the very top.
Second, the economy must be revitalized. He vowed that the new
Administration would do away with unwarranted controls and protection and
instead guarantee self-regulation and fair competition. “Private initiative
and creativity will thus be allowed to flourish”. He went on to say. “The
Administration will be the first to tighten uts belt. Our citizens must
also conserve more and save more. Extravagance and wastefulness must be
eliminated... Only when the Government and the people, and labor and
business work together with enthusiasm will it be possible to turn our
economy around...”
Third, national discipline must be enhanced. “Respect for authority
must be reestablished... Freedom must serve society... The true meaning of
freedom is in using it to plant a flower in the park rather than picking a
flower from the park.” The President also said, “Ethics... must be made to
prevail. To this end, education must henceforth cultivate wholesome
character and unwavering democratic belief, as well as equip our young
people for the future with knowledge and skill in science and
technology...”
Four majot Goals of the New Administration
The four major goals of the Administration are clean government, a
sound economy, a healthy society and peaceful unification.
Clean government means a government free of corruption and
injustice. There is a saying that the lower reaches of a river will be
clean only when the upper reaches are kept clean. The President is
determined to keep the upper reaches of the stream clean, and all the
Cabinet members and high-ranking public officials will join in this effort
so that the public will have confidence in the Government.
The campaign to keep the upper reaches of the stream clean means
reforms from the top. The new Government has required high-ranking public
officials to register and make public their personal assets to discourage
the illegal accumulation of wealth under the Public Officials’ Ethics Law.
The President himself has made public his own assets and has said that he
would not accept political contributions.
A sound economy means a New Economy free of unwarranted controls and
protection - an economy which guarantees self-regulation and fair
competition and encourages the private initiative and creativity necessary
for economic revitalization. The economy has been marked by quantitative
growth in the past three decades; now it needs qualitative development. In
order to develop New Economy, Korea must (1) establish a liberal market
system, (2) liberalize financing, (3) decentralize economic power and (4)
promote economic reforms.
The New Economy emphasizes concentrated efforts for the renovation of
science and technology. In the 21st century, the strength of nations will
be measured by the development of science and technology. It is for this
reason the new Administration is sharply raising research and development
expenditures.
President Kim Young Sam announced on August 12, 1993, implementation
of real-name system for all financial transactions to assist in the
realization of economic justice and clean government. The new
Administration also has a firm position to control speculation in real
estate and institute tax reforms.
By effecting all these changes, it is predicted that the inflation
rate as measured by the consumer price index will fall to the 3-4 percent
range by the end of 1994 from the usual past level of nearly 6 percent,
while the balance on current account will shift into the black. The
economy as a whole should grow at an average annual rate of 6.9 percent,
boosting per capita GNP to US$14,076 in 1998 from US$7,466 in 1993.
A healthy society means a society in which all people work hard and
receive just rewards. It is obvious that a clean government and sound
economy alone cannot create a New Korea. A healthy society is absolutely
required as well. Everyone must spontaneously take responsibility for
keeping society healthy. Each and every person must be honest, courageous
and dignified.
Peaceful unification is the supreme task for Koreans. the Republic’s
Korean national Community Unification Formula envisages a Korean
Commonwealth, an interim arrangement designed to build political, economic
and military trust and restore national homogeneity, leading to full
national integration through free general elections throughout the Korean
Peninsula. President Kim will consistently pursue this unification formula,
widely regarded as being very realistic. He will, however, flexibly adapt
it to changes in the international situation. In a Liberation Day speech on
August 15, 1994, he thus prpoposed South-North joint projects for national
development, including light-water nuclear reactor construction in the
North, once the North Korean nuclear issue is resolved.
Reform backed by the Korean people
The Korean people’s deep support of President Kim’s comprehensive
reform agenda has been reflected in the Korean leader’s strong public
approval rating. President Kim has fared consistently well in public
opinion polls which indicate that his reform policies continue to enjoy the
support of a solid majority of Koreans.
Ethics Reform
To maintain the public’s trust, President Kim has pledged to create a
corruption-free political environment by establishing high ethical
standards for the members of his administration and political party.
Symbolizing his strong commitment to this goal on February 27, 1993, just
two days after his inauguration President Kim disclosed all of his
financial assets to the public, and encouraged all senior cabinet and
ruling party figures to do the same. A number of his government’s newly
appointed officials were forced to resign for their past unethical
financial conduct and President Kim declared that there would be “no
sanctuary” from his clean-up campaign. He stressed that the new ethical
standards “must be internalized and become a way of life” for all Koreans.
In order to institutionalize the disclosure of public officials’
assets, the existing Public Officials’ Ethics Act as revised in June 1993,
and ranking government officials are now required to register and
disclosure their assets under this law. As a result of the clean-up drive
resulting from the asset disclosure, 1,363 public officials were dismissed
for malfeasance and 242 were forced to resign due to improperly acquired
wealth.
President Kim’s inauguration brought to an end the deep involvement
of the military in Korea’s political arena. Corruption in the armed forces,
long a taboo subject, became a focus of the new reform drive. Promotion
kickback scandals were uncovered, and a number of senior military officers
have been removed from their posts. The Administration has also
investigated and taken legal action against defense procurement
irregularitites. At the same time, Prsident Kim has moved to depoliticize
the government bureaucracy. In particular, he has reformed the nation’s
intelligence apparatus, ending its involvement in domestic politics and
directing it to focus solely on Korea’s national security concerns.
President Kim has taken steps to reform the Office of the President
itself. The President’s residence and office complex, Chong Wa Dae, better
known as a Blue House, has been made more accessible to the public. For the
first time in decades, the avenue in front of the Blue House is now open to
traffic, as are the scenic mountain hiking trails adjacent to the
presidential residence. Gone are the lavish Blue House meals once served to
staff and guests. Instead, everyone, including the President himself, dines
on simple yet traditional Korean cuisine.
Financial Reform
Following this reform to require the disclosure of personal assets by
public officials, President Kim Young Sam boldly introduced a real-name
financial transaction system in order to achieve fundamental structural
reform that will greatly assist in the realization of economic justice and
clean government.
This real-name financial transaction system, which was put into
effect by an emergency presidential decree on August 12, 1993 is the core
of the entire reform movement, “the reform of all reforms.” This reform is
helping eradicate misconducts and realize economic justice by rectifying
the distorted economic structure and income distribution caused by
underground economic activities and real estate speculation and by cutting
shady financial ties between politicians and businessmen. In order to join
the ranks of advanced countries, Korea must eradicate the corruption and
irregularities stemming from certain aspects of past administrations’
pursuance of rapid growth-oriented economic development.
With the introduction of the real-name financial transaction system,
all financial dealing have become transparent, underground economic
dealings have diminished, and nonproductive land speculation has been
curbed. The funds that were channeled into political circles in the past as
a result of government-business collusion are now being invested in
business activities.
As a result drastic changes are occurring in political, economic and
social activities in virtually every sector of Korean society. Business
investment is actively increasing, and the past distorted economic
structure and income distribution is being rectified.
President Kim’s declaration not to receive any money from businesses
so as to maintain a clean government and to build a clean society, combined
with his political philosophy, laid the foundation for the introduction of
the real-name financial transaction system. The success of the real-name
financial transaction system is serving as a stepping-stone to a New Korea.
Reform Legislation Promoting Clean Polities and Participatory Democracy
As President Kim’s urging, a package of three political reform bills
was unanimously passed by the National Assembly on March 24, 1994. Marked
by heavy penalties for offenders, the Law for Electing Public Officials and
Preventing Electoral Irregularities is designed to ensure the transparency
of campaign financing, limit campaign expenditures while encouraging freer
campaigns, and ban “premature electioneering,” as well as all other
electoral misconduct. The amended Political Fund Law is intended to control
fund raising by political parties and individual politicians with the aim
of stamping out “money politics” and “politics-business collusion,” while
encouraging relatively small contributions by individuals and groups to the
coffers of the parties or politicians that they support. Together, these
two laws are aimed at ensuring free, fair, clean and frugal politics in
general. The revised Local Autonomy Law provides for the election of the
chief executives of local governments in addition to the local councils
already instituted in 1991 to restore local autonomy after a 30-year
hiatus.
Under the new Local Autonomy Law, four kinds of local elections are
scheduled to be conducted on June 27, 1995, to choose 15 provincial
governors and metropolitan mayors, 866 members of provincial and
metropolitan councils, 260 city mayors, country executives and municipal
district chiefs, and 4,304 members of lower-level local councils - for a
total of 5,445.
In line with the key goals of President Kim’s political reform, the
enforcement of these new laws will enhance the ability of Korean citizens
from all walks of life to more fully participate in the democratic
political process.
