Category: Politics-Korea

President Park is continuing the trend of Korean Presidents quickly becoming unpopular with the public after they do not live up to their promises:

President Park Geun-hye’s approval rating has gone down to 30 percent, the lowest since she took office on Feb. 25, 2013, according to a survey released Friday.

The record low rate appears to have been prompted by the fiasco involving the government’s new tax settlement scheme coupled with Park’s no-compromise stance, experts said.

Gallup Korea conducted a poll of 1,001 adults between Tuesday and Thursday, which shows Park’s rating at 30 percent, down from 35 percent the previous week.

Respondents who negatively evaluated Park’s management of state affairs reached 60 percent, up from 55 percent. Among them, 17 percent accused Park of poor communications, while 15 percent cited the possible tax boost amid lingering controversy over the bungled tax policy.

“Last week’s falling popularity could be attributed to her New Year speech that only showed a gap between her perception and public expectations,” Gallop said in its statement. “The continuous decrease this week can be attributable to furious employees over income tax.”

More than 15 million employees are upset over a possibly increased amount of tax payment in their year-end tax filings, despite the government’s explanation that only high-income earners would have to pay more tax.

It was noted that a considerable number of those aged over 50, Park’s main support base, seem to have withdrawn their support.

The results show that only 38 percent of those over 50 still support the daughter of late President Park Chung-hee, while her over-60 supporters was reduced to 53 percent from 62 percent.  [Korea Times]

You can read the rest at the link, but I think this is the backlash from making campaign promises to get elected and then having to deal with reality when in power.  A perfect example of this is the promise not to raise taxes, but the government found a back door way to take people’s money without raising taxes by instead eliminating deductions.

The Park administration document scandal has gotten even more interesting with the revelation that the document in question was a forgery:

A presidential document claiming a former aide to President Park Geun-hye tried to exert undue influence on state affairs was fabricated by a senior police officer, prosecutors said Monday.

The document centers around allegations that Jeong Yun-hoe, who was President Park’s adviser before she was elected, pulled strings to try and replace the president’s current chief of staff, Kim Ki-choon.

Announcing the interim outcome of their probe, investigators at the Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office said that they have concluded that Supt. Park Kwan-cheon authored and leaked the document.

The document was then handed over to the president’s younger brother, Ji-man, who is also the chairman of EG Group, an electronic materials producer, under the orders of former presidential secretary Cho Eung-cheon.

Cho was indicted on charges of leaking confidential information, and violating the Presidential Records Management Act, prosecutors said.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but considering how this document was intended to take out Jeong Yun-hoe it is pretty clear that he must have been still providing advice to the President which others around Park must not have liked.

Something I really like about Korean political leaders is how much they focus on setting quantifiable goals to improve their economy:

President Park Geun-hye started off her New Year’s address wishing all Koreans a healthy and happy 2015, in the Year of the Sheep. She said her top priority over the coming year was reinvigorating the economy.

“The government will endeavor to change the fundamentals of the economy so that it is centered on creativity and innovation, ushering in an era of $40,000 per capita GDP.”

President Park also addressed national security matters, promising to open an era of unification for the two Koreas.

“I will work to put an end to the 70-year-long division by building up trust with North Korea and urging change. The government will establish substantial and specific groundwork to achieve unification.”

She also promised to root-out irregularities in society to make Korea a safer place to live.
President Park said due to the spirit of the Korean people, she was confidant that Korea would be able to overcome any difficulty or challenge in the new year.  [Arirang News]

When was the last time you heard prominent American politicians set quantifiable economic goals like this?  And even if they did how many Americans even know what per capita GDP is?

South Koreans Support Ban on Party: Poll http://t.co/Txlb7FdPTz

— South Korea Daily (@SouthKoreaDaily) December 22, 2014

It will be interesting to see if South Korea goes the way of the US with affirmative action laws:

With a soaring number of migrants in society, Korea should push for affirmative action measures to help curb discrimination, promote coexistence with those from various backgrounds and bring about inclusive growth, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said.

The city government has been working with the International Organization for Migration for the first International Migrants Day campaign in Seoul to kick off Thursday, aimed at promoting awareness about migrants by highlighting their contributions to Korea.

Given rampant bias that often turns into hate speech, affirmative action plans similar to those in the U.S. will play a significant role in boosting public understanding about migrants and building a social safety net for the minorities, Park said.

“It will take a long time to practically achieve equal rights in society as far as (discrimination) remains embedded in the people’s subconscious, which is why I think we need affirmative action,” he said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald.  [Korea Herald]

You can read more at the link.

I think this just shows how powerful name recognition can be in a national election because I cannot think of one thing Ban Ki-moon has done at the United Nations that is noteworthy other than being the first Asian Secretary General:

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s confidants have sounded out the possibility of Ban’s running for president in his native South Korea, an opposition politician claimed Monday, despite Ban’s apparent objection to get involved in local politics.

Ban’s second five-year term is set to end at the end of 2016, a year before South Koreans go to the polls to elect a new president who will replace President Park Geun-hye.

Park’s single five-year term ends in early 2018, and by law, she cannot seek re-election.

Kwon Roh-kap, an adviser to the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, claimed people seen as confidants to Ban discussed the possibility of Ban’s running for South Korea’s top office on the opposition ticket.

He said he told Ban’s confidants that he respects the U.N. chief and that the opposition should ask Ban to join the party and compete in the party’s primary for the presidential nomination for the election.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

Favored South Korean Presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak has a plan to improve English language proficiency and it appears the plan may not be a good thing for English hagwon owners:

Lee, 65, said that if he is elected president he will implement measures to cut household spending on private education by half of the current level through strengthening English education at public schools.

“English education accounts for half of the household spending on private education,” he said.

The former Seoul mayor proposes introducing English immersion programs and an English teacher certificate to help teachers improve language proficiency. About 3,000 teachers will be cultivated so that they can conduct classes in English. He also pledged to give universities full freedom in picking freshmen.

Experts said that Koreans spend an estimated 30 trillion won on private education per year. About 15 trillion won is spent for private English lessons annually. 

The presidential nominee plans to cut private spending by upgrading the quality of public school programs.  [Kang Hyun-kyung – Korea Times]

The one thing I hear Koreans complain the most about is not North Korea, corruption, pollution, or other issues; it is the cost of education.  Koreans dedication to educating their children is incredible with the amount of money they pour into the private hagwon schools.  Anyone that can reduce the cost of education without reducing quality in Korea will definitely have popular approval. 

I guess it was only a matter of time, but Lee Myung-bak is reported to be contemplating changing his plan to build a canal from Seoul to Pusan:

Grand National Party presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak is set to revise his flagship pledge to build a cross-country canal, striving to fix flaws in the controversial plan to maintain a lead built on his reputation as an economic expert.

Amid escalating disputes over the massive project, the GNP future vision committee, in charge of finalizing Lee’s campaign platform, has decided to delay announcing their plans until the end of this month.

"Although both Lee and the committee believe in holding onto the canal plan, we have agreed that it has to be revised in order to be included among Lee’s 10 public pledges," said Rep. Kim Hyong-o, head of the committee.

The canal plan has remained Lee’s top pledge despite external and internal criticism. But increasing objections and Lee’s somewhat vague explanation of the project have aroused concern it may adversely affect the former Seoul mayor’s popularity just two months before the Dec. 19 election.  [Shin Hae-in, Korea Herald]

I fail to see the use in building a canal to Pusan to move cargo by ship when you can transport goods by water using the ocean just as easily.  The only reason I can see to support the project is because it would spend government money on jobs for South Koreans instead of the money going north to fund Kim Jong-il’s lifestyle.   

I think this month couldn’t make things any more clearer what the state of relations between the US and South Korea are currently at:

In a rare diplomatic event, Grand National Party presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak is to have a meeting with President George W. Bush next month in Washington. It is the first time since 1987 that a U.S. president will officially meet an opposition presidential candidate prior to an election in Korea.
It is “highly probable that the meeting between the two men will occur on Oct. 15 or 16,” said Lee’s spokesman Park Hyeong-joon in announcing the unusual event yesterday. [Joong Ang Ilbo]

What is most funny about this is the condemnation this news has received from the Blue House:

The Blue House seemed uncomfortable with the news. There has frequently been tension between Roh’s liberal Blue House and the tough conservatism of the Bush White House.
A senior aide to Roh scoffed at the announcement, calling it “pro-American flunkeyism.”

This is coming from the same administration that is meeting with Kim Jong-il this month to pay tribute to a nation that threatens military invasion of the country, kidnaps South Korean citizens, launched terrorist attacks against South Korean targets, murders military personnel, and on top of all this imprisons hundreds of thousands of its own people in forced labor camps.

Yet this government has the nerve to condemn Lee for visiting the president of the nation that just happened to be directly responsible for the very existence of South Korea and continues to guarantee economic and national security of the nation?

This is a predictable election tactic:

North Korea will likely boycott multilateral talks on its nuclear disarmament if a conservative candidate wins the December presidential election, former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan said Sunday.

Lee, now vying for the nomination of the pro-government United New Democratic Party, predicted North Korea will wait and see if a conservative administration would change its inter-Korean policy from the current liberal engagement approach. [Yonhap]

Lee Hae-chan might as well just say, "Vote for me because I will give Comrade Kim Jong-il everything he wants and then some, so we can keep the myth of progress alive." 

Kim Jong-il is only going to boycott the nuclear talks if who ever is elected does not give him the free stuff he wants with little to no reciprocity in return.