(EDITORIAL from the Korea Times on Jan. 21)

Worsening economic plight
'Worker-friendly' policy remains as just lip service

Any society in any era has its light and shade, but seldom has such contrast
seemed to be starker in Korea than now.
On the surface, this country has pulled itself out of the worldwide recession
faster than most other major economies, and is about to emerge as one of the key
players in global decision-making. Emblematic of Korea's enhanced status is its
scheduled hosting of the G20 summit in November, as the first such country among
emerging economies.
Behind such a spectacular fa?ade are the ever-deteriorating livelihoods of the
working-class people, as shown by more than the 4 million ``virtual unemployed"
and the record-high household debt of 712 trillion won, equivalent to 80 percent
of nominal disposable income in real terms.
Belatedly alarmed by the double whammy of joblessness and resultant debt,
President Lee Myung-bak held a job summit with the nation's top tycoons last week
and managed to get their word on a sharp increase in employment. As everyone has
come to know, however, the large export-oriented manufacturers can no longer
create as many jobs as they want to because of automated processes and other
technological innovations.
This means their promises are highly likely to end up as just that, requiring the
government to come up with a longer-term and more structural set of remedies to
cure the jobless growth.
We welcome President Lee's willingness to chair the national strategic meeting
for employment every month, but remain skeptical how serious he is to make a
fundamental change in his administration's policy focus toward smaller, domestic
demand-oriented services industries, not just in words but in deeds ??? financial
subsidies, tax breaks and other administrative supports ??? to cultivate them as
actual job creators. The track records of the Lee administration over the past
two years preclude optimism in the remaining years, however.
Such changes will require nothing less than a paradigm shift in Lee's own mindset
from big business-led quantitative growth to small business-oriented qualitative
growth, something that can hardly be expected from a president who has lived most
of his life as a top conglomerate's CEO
It is regrettable in this regard that President Lee seems more bent on the
outward enhancement of Korea's prestige on the global stage through demonstrative
diplomacy than on solving the worsening economic plight of working class people
at home.
Lee did undertake some worker-friendly policies, such as the so-called
income-contingent loans to students to help them with tuition problems, and micro
credits for needy people. In actuality, however, these half-baked measures have
not been of much help to those supposed to benefit from them, as the universities
raised tuition even more sharply and banks are applying high interests on them.
Despite the creation of a 1 trillion-won fund for micro credits, actual lending
remains at a few hundred million won, too, mainly because of too strict
conditions and other bureaucratic excesses at lending windows.
Officials boast the government's 2010 budget increased spending for public
welfare by 8.7 percent, but they should know the comparable hikes in the previous
administration always hovered around the 20-percent level.
President Lee ought to realize the jobs he saves may be those of local government
heads and parliamentarians from his party. Aside from politics, the chief
executive with a single-five year term might well consider what the legacy of his
tenure will be if he fails to improve the general public's life while at office.
(END)

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