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By Kang Hyun-kyung President Lee Myung-bak Monday called for responsible capitalism to steer economic growth to go hand in hand with social integration and cope with the lingering global financial turmoil. The global fiscal crisis dominated the speech Lee delivered at a ceremony to mark the 66th anniversary of Liberation Day in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, leaving such foreign policy issues as North Korea and diplomatic rows with Japan relatively insignificant. The speech was televised nationwide. Lee proposed what he called “ecosystematic development” as an alternative path for the nation to overcome the flawed existing mainstream models _ the spending-oriented welfare state and the unbridled free-market economy. “We have to come up with a new development mechanism in which the preservation of the global environment can go hand in hand with economic prosperity, growth with an improvement in the quality of life, economic progress with social cohesiveness and national progress with individual progress.” Lee noted price increases, a soaring jobless rate and a widening income gap are common phenomena that all nations are dealing with. He said this shows that the current two dominant models _ the welfare state and free-market economy _ are flawed. Lee warned of the consequences of populist policies at a time when the nation is striving to block the negative fallout of global financial turmoil on the domestic economy. “In some countries, competitive welfare populism by lawmakers brought about national bankruptcy. We have to avoid repeating the same mistakes,” he said. “If the state budget is depleted, it would be impossible to continue implementing welfare policies. In addition, we should not make the error of giving financial aid to those who are well off, thus preventing such assistance flowing into the hands of those in desperate need.” His remarks came amid a popular debate over free school meals and childcare ahead of the National Assembly elections slated for next April. Conservative politicians alleged that free school meals for all students, proposed by liberals, is a waste of taxpayers’ money because children from rich families can afford the meals without state subsidies. In the speech, President Lee touched lightly on North Korea and bilateral ties with Japan, which showed signs of souring after three conservative Japanese politicians unsuccessfully attempted to visit Ulleung Island near Dokdo earlier this month. On North Korea, Lee called for concrete steps toward denuclearization without making any fresh proposals. He said humanitarian assistance for the North will continue. Kim Du-woo, senior presidential secretary for public relations, told reporters that there is a lot the North should do after the Bali talks, and that a new proposal at the moment would be meaningless. Lee didn’t mention Dokdo directly, stressing the need to chart a long-sighted vision. “Japan has a responsibility to teach its young generation the truth about what happened in the past. By doing so, we can then allow young people in Korea and Japan to forge ahead into the new era with a correct recognition and understanding of history,” he said.
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| hkang@koreatimes.co.kr |
