(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on Nov. 4)

Race for welfare

The National Assembly got off to its primary business of budget deliberation with
President Lee Myung-bak's administrative policy address on Monday. Conspicuously
missing in the presidential address, which was read by Prime Minister Chung
Un-chan - a practice of convenience that needs to be corrected - was a direct
mention of Sejong City.

The president's deliberate silence on the controversial new administrative town
project in South Chungcheong Province indicated his desire to resolve the problem
of revising the original plan with as little noise as possible in the face of
strong resistence from the provincial residents, opposition parties and even a
faction in his own party. Aside from the administrative city project, there are
quite a few other major political issues that could undermine the smooth progress
of the "budget assembly."
Two months in the regular fall session have already passed and several days will
be spent on keynote addresses by party leaders and the interpellation of
administration chiefs. Only a few weeks will be left until the legal deadline of
Dec. 2 for the passage of the 2010 budget and no one can tell how much precious
time will be wasted in the usual partisan clashes to force a hurried approval
close to the yearend.
The development of the four major rivers of the Han, Nakdong, Geum and Yeongsan,
which has been Lee's pet project since the 2007 campaign, is at the top of the
list of controversial issues with its huge budget for the first project year of
2010. The plan to fund part of the project using the allocation for the state-run
Korea Water Resources Corp. will offer good ammunition for the opposition's
attack.
The president, however, is determined to go ahead with the original plan, which
he claimed was not simple construction work but a multipurpose project to
establish cultural, tourism, energy and industrial infrastructure. The rivers
will create numerous jobs, improve the quality of provincial life and cope with
global climate change, he assured.
Then there is the proposal to overhaul the provincial administration system with
the mergers of counties and small cities which will have to be accompanied by
rezoning of electoral districts. The president asked the National Assembly to
seriously debate election reform, to synchronize polls at various levels, and to
reduce causes of political conflict. If these issues are not enough, there is the
demand from the opposition parties to revise certain media-related statutes,
which the Constitutional Court ruled valid while acknowledging drawbacks in the
course of their passage last July.
These political objectives have little to do with the people's lives in these
days of economic struggles from the devastating impact of global financial
crisis. Concentration of parliamentary attention on divisive political issues
during the crucial period of budget deliberation is undesirable. Fortunately,
there are some inspiring remarks from party leaders to awaken their colleagues to
what they should really be doing in scrutinizing the 291.8 trillion won ($255
billion) national spending plan.
Chung Sye-gyun, chairman of the Democratic Party, said that the main opposition
party would pursue "colorful" policy goals, transcending the liberal-conservative
ideological divide in welfare, education, labor and other areas, moving to the
right if necessary. He pledged to compete with the ruling party throughout the
budget session to prove who the real protectors of ordinary people are.
The presidential parliamentary address too was the administration's vow to work
for nothing but the people's interests. Now all we have to do is keep our fingers
crossed and watch Yeouido assembly hall with renewed expectations for a healthy
partisan race, after so many frustrations.
(END)