(LEAD) Ruling party whip calls for full support of gov't economic measures

SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Yonhap) -- Ruling party floor leader Hong Joon-pyo on Tuesday asked political opponents and the public to throw unreserved support behind a series of economic drives by the conservative administration as it is pounded by escalating financial woes.

Hong's speech at the National Assembly comes a day after President Lee Myung-bak
delivered an urgently arranged parliamentary address, attempting to assure people
that the country has enough foreign reserves and the capacity to tackle the Wall
Street-triggered global credit crunch.
Despite the government's relatively bright outlook, analysts have been warning of
an impending grim situation similar to that of the 1997-98 financial meltdown, as
local stock and currency markets continue to wobble.
President Lee continues to suffer from low approval ratings hovering in the 20
percent range, largely due to public distrust and disappointment over the
government's ineffective economic measures.
"The government and the ruling party will make the utmost effort in overcoming
this economic downturn via prompt and firm measures," Hong said. "But please show
us your support. We can't do this by ourselves."
Stressing that South Korea was in a "much more stable" situation compared to the
financial crisis in the 90s, Hong asked for opposition parties' support for the
government-led tax cut, deregulation, ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade
agreement and a US$100 billion package to provide state guarantees for local
banks' foreign debts.
"The legislature's prompt approval is critical for the government to push ahead
its financial market stabilization plans," he said. "It is time for us to stop
the time-consuming political warfare that will take us nowhere."
The main opposition Democratic Party called Hong's speech "irresponsible."
"He has merely made requests to the opposition and the public without offering a
word of apology concerning the current economic crisis," said the party's
spokesman Cho Jung-sik.
The left-leaning Democratic Labor Party again called for the dismissal of the
finance minister, stressing no substantial changes are possible with Lee's
current economic policymakers.
"Bipartisan cooperation can be achieved only after the government and the ruling
party show their readiness to completely change the current economic policy,"
said its spokesman Park Sung-hup.
The stabilization measures put forward by Lee and his ruling Grand National Party
are not gaining much support from political opponents or a majority of voters who
say they are off-target and designed to benefit the privileged and wealthy.
Lee's property tax cut, for example, will benefit mainly well-off property owners
with houses valued over $600,000, a move critics say will widen the country's
already sizable income gap.
There is also skepticism surrounding the government's recently announced $100
billion rescue package, which populist politicians describe as using taxpayers'
money to fix blunders made by the government and state-run banks.
A recent corruption scandal, involving several high-ranking officials and ruling
party lawmakers who allegedly pilfered state farming subsidies, has also been
eroding the credibility of the eight-month-old Lee government as it strives to
put its reforms back on track.
Thousands of farmers nationwide have been launching near daily protests since the
case first made headlines earlier this month, when Lee's vice health minister was
found to have applied for the subsidies by falsely claiming she farmed rice. The
disgraced vice minister was replaced last week as the fourth Cabinet member to
leave office since Lee was inaugurated late February.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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