Lee cites N. Korean leader as drag on national brand

By Yoo Cheong-mo
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak said Thursday that North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il is one of three major factors undermining South Korea's
national brand, the others being the nation's outdated labor laws and its
frequent street demonstrations.
"A foreign report noted that three main factors weigh on the Republic of Korea's
national brand value. The first one is labor-management conflict, the second is
illegal street rallies and the third is North Korea's Kim Jong-il," Lee was
quoted by his spokesman as saying during a private government meeting on national
competitiveness.
The Republic of Korea is the official name of South Korea.
"We can attain improvement in addressing the first and second problems, depending
on our efforts. We must use this ongoing economic crisis as an opportunity to
advance our labor sector culture."
Lee, who has repeatedly urged the communist North to give up its nuclear weapons
program and return to an inter-Korean dialog, did not elaborate on his comments
describing the North Korean leader as a drag on the South Korean national brand.
Lee's remarks came amid a prolonged chill in inter-Korean relations. There are
also conflicting intelligence reports on the health of the 66-year-old North
Korean leader, who allegedly suffered a stroke in the middle of August and
underwent surgery.
With regard to the government's efforts to combat the economic crisis, meanwhile,
President Lee reiterated that his government is mapping out appropriate measures
to stimulate domestic demand and stave off a crisis in the real economy.
The president then instructed his government to accelerate its deregulatory
reform and drastically lift administrative red tape on the use of national land
for industrial purposes.
ycm@yna.co.kr
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