Focusing on
Reviving Economy
- New Uri Party floor leader Chung vows to meet with opposition on key issues

Rep. Chung Sye-kyun, the newly elected floor leader of the ruling Uri party, said this is the critical year for Korea with this year being the 60th year since the country's liberation from the Japanese colonial rule, and the 5th anniversary of the historic inter-Korean summit. This is the year that symbolizes the dynamic history of modern Korea and tasks given to our generation are truly critical for our country.
The floor leader said externally, we have to resolve the North Korean nuclear issues to seek peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia. Internally, we have to build a new growth model fitting the age of an open economy, ending the polarization of society. He said we have to remove the wall of the past which has been blocking the progress of our history and make our country an advanced democratic country through the realization of new politics.
"I, as a new floor leader, am prepared to give away all of myself to our historic move toward new future in the 21st century as much as I can muster my strength," the lawmaker stressed.
Last year, the power that seeks democratic reform in the country mustered a majority in the National Assembly thanks to the power of people who want reform for the first time since the democratization of 1987.
The legislator said we have to create a new politics, an open one for the success of the participatory government. We have to be at the forefront of the effort.
Some opposition factions and conservative groups tried to create an impression that the politics have been thrown into a factional strife centering on public livelihood and reform as if our party is striving for reform only, not looking after livelihood of the people. They misled the people.
Chung said party, politics and the presidential office should be united as one with no qualms, especially in the decisions leading to major policies. They should discuss issues and once decisions are made, they should stick with them with no other words about them.
When they speak with one voice, communications between the party and party legislators will become smooth and the people would not have to wary about politics when they hold full discussions before they make decisions.
He said he will try to minimize mistakes due to disagreements on such important pending issues as making the cost of apartments public, the abrogation of the National Security Law, and others so that reform will be a success.
His election seems likely that he will hold discussion more often on key issues with the government, party and the presidential office to tone down any confusion surrounding the decisions on those issues compared to his predecessor Rep. Chon Jung-bae.
He will also strengthen the role of the party's Policy Council so that it may play a bigger role in policy decisions in the legislature, he said, adding that he would not meddle with the council's activity..
He is said to be considering to reduce the number of the members of the assistant floor leader group in place of assigning more members to the policy council, so that the council may make a greater contribution to economic policies.
The Chung team would also rather have such key issues as the National Security Law, past criminals, and the Private School Law, among others, dealt at parliamentary committees than according to agreements reached at "four party meeting," last December,
In this connection, Rep. Won Hye-young, the newly-named chief policymaker, said the agreement reached at the four-party meeting has failed to get the endorsement of the opposition Grand National Party and therefore is invalid to his ways of thinking. He also thinks that these issues should be handled at the National Assembly committees as much as possible.
The ruling party's 107 of the 150 member lawmakers elected Rep. Chung as the party's floor leader on Jan.24 for a one-year term.
The new floor leader said the livelihood for the people and reform are two sides of the same coin; Reform has to succeed to revive the people's livelihood and reform should be centered on people's livelihood to gain public support and succeed.
"Water so far away cannot help the thirsty," he said, which means to say that the party and the government should know the real picture of the national issues at hand.
Attaining reform legislature is aimed at overcoming the cold war legacy, which has been in the way of progress of our society and correct the mistakes in our history to open the new horizon for the national development in the 21st century, Chung said.
The ruling party is responsible for the results of its actions, as well as its targets. Reform must bring good results so that people might benefit from them.
The participatory government is in its third year of governing and has three most pressing tasks on its hand including the economic recovery, national union, and settling peace on the Korean Peninsula, he claimed.
It needs powerful economic policies to perk up the sluggish economy by expanding investment, and creating jobs for the people not for the rich.
As President Roh Moo-hyun said in his New Year speech, balanced national economy should be achieved for the sake of all concerned including large businesses and small business firms, high-tech and traditional business firms and regular and irregular employees, he said.
The balanced development is something that must be achieved no matter how difficult it is. An alternative plan for the relocation of the capital from Seoul must also be found as soon as possible, he stressed.
He also said Korea would have hard time becoming an advanced country with its society being united as one removing two extremes. Redistribution of wealth and social welfare must be expanded. All major players in the economy should agree on a social contract to seek a democratic labor-management relations, thus forming a base for another take-off of our economy.
Color war, a legacy from the past, should be rooted out from society and achieve national unity by erasing all kinds of regional social conflicts are an urgent task we are faced with.
We had many difficulties in our inter-Korean relations last year, but also there were many achievements, he said. President Roh has done a lot to secure an international support to his policy for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through peaceful means by way of a number of summit meetings with world leaders.
He said the ruling party has accomplished much, although it was established only a short time ago in November, 2003; It created an era for open politics and the foundation for a clean politics; And it also made a big progress in democratic operation of its apparatuses and party-politics as a policy-oriented party represented in the parliament. nw