Rep. Lee Kye-ahn Stresses
'Politics for the People'
Strives to reform politics and make the nation better off
Capitalizing on his experience of having been with the Korean economy for the past 30 years, Lee Kye-ahn, a CEO-turned first-term parliamentarian, has put more energy into revitalizing the national economy, stabilizing the livelihood of low income people and supporting the underprivileged.
Lee, who once served as the Uri Party's third policy coordination committee chairman, is actively engaged in his parliamentary activities as a member of the National Assembly Finance and Economy Committee, the Special Committee on Budget & Accounts, the Gender Equality and Family Committee and the Special Committee on Climate Change. The following are the excerpts of a recent interview Rep. Lee had with NewsWorld.
Question: I understand that you, as a businessman-turned parliamentarian, know what institutional support the parliament can provide for the development of the national economy. What activities have you been conducting so far?
Answer: I?e heard that many were surprised of my entering the political arena after I had been with the Korean economy for the past 30 years. As a matter of fact, in the spring of last year, I was persuaded to enter politics, saying that CEO-turned real economy experts like me were needed so as to reform politics and make the nation better off. One year has passed after I set out my political carrier with his conviction that politics is aimed at making people better off.
I've been striving to become a politician serving for the people, as I start daily parliamentarian activities after getting up at 4 a.m. like my corporate life. For the past one year, I have legislated bills designed to revive the public livelihood, while I have served as the Uri Party's third policy coordination committee chairman. I've endeavored to put into practice with my own passion such activities aimed at improving the living quality of people by focusing on invigorating investments into education, culture and welfare facilities through BTL (Build, Transfer and Lease) projects, enhancing women? rights and solving pending issues in his constituent district of Gwanak-gu, Seoul.
However, whenever I find that I do still yet to launch some things, I come to think that I have to make strenuous efforts more than ever.
As a new and vivid morning welcomes every day, I'm preparing for a second year of serving as a first-term parliamentarian. If the past one year was a kind of a preparatory time for knowing the parliament and politics, the years to come will be the time for me to demonstrate my capability with a passion.
Q: What have you ever pledged to carry out as a politician? How do you carry out a vision of developing Korea into the ranks of advanced countries in the political reality?
A: As aforementioned, I'm always sticking to my conviction that politics is aimed at making people better off. Based on my initial conviction, I set my sights as the principles of my parliamentary activities on efforts to revitalize the national economy, stabilize the livelihood of people in the low-income bracket and support the underprivileged.
Currently, crude oil prices go higher compared to the beginning of this year. However, the national economy is getting stable with signs of a rebounding domestic demand, as shown by stats released by the Bank of Korea. I think now is the time for everyone to collect wisdom on what actions should be in place to sustain, albeit slowly but apparent, rebounding economic cycle. So I will focus my parliamentarian activities on stabilizing an economic recovery pace and maintain it.
While setting the rationale of my parliamentarian activities on spurring an economic recovery, I focus on practical tasks on how to stabilize the livelihood of low-income people. Media reports have it that stats show a rise in the per capita national income, but the real income growth rate stands close to naught. In reality, the question over bi-polarization poses a hindrance to social integration and development. I will pay heed on and stay away from merely populist policies lacking a vision, while carrying out parliamentarian activities designed o stabilize and revitalize the livelihood of low-income people. I will aggressively consult with my ruling and opposition parliamentarian colleagues to make up for loopholes the stabilization steps for low-income people have so far contained and find rational solutions.
Q: Would give the details of your activities as a member of the National Assembly Finance and Economy Committee?
A: The National Assembly Finance and Economy takes charge of coordinating, consulting and supervising the government's economic policies. The committee makes its own assessment on whether the government's policies go the right way. It speaks highly of a good job it did, but we demand a rational correction if economic policies go awry.
As to my activities as a member of the committee, I set my sights on a target of "reinvigorating the public livelihood through simultaneous growths." Recent economic indices suggest positive signs of a recovery, but it is early to say that the real economy gas has made stably a soft landing. The reality is that unlike positive signs of such leading economic indices as the Business Survey Index and consumer sentiment index, such negative factors as oil price hikes and the "X"file scandal surrounding a government agency's wiretapping of influential figures have sprung. I understand that our society can regain health when the leading economic indices reflect the real economy and the public livelihood goes vigorous.
Plans to resuscitate the economy of the private sector and overhaul the public sector's investments as well as trade conflicts, caused by a virtual war without firing, are among the tasks the committee has to tackle with. To this end, committee members are delving into options to secure transparent tax policies, forge collaboration between the private and the public sectors on the economic recovery and cope with Free Trade Agreement issues in cooperation with experts of each field.
Furthermore, I think that each member of the committee should act as a businessman representing Korea in a bid to spur foreign direct investments. In this regard, it is quite essential to help foreign investors get a better understanding of the Korean economy.
I did my best last you and will do so to let foreign investors have a good grasp of Korea during their meetings in a positive and affirmative manner to boost foreign investments into the nation.
Q: As a member of the Special Committee on Budget & Accounts, what steps do you consider to enhance efficiency of the implementation of budgets?
A: The budget system has undergone huge changes during the administrations of President Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun in the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Take a look into constitutional aspects, the budget deliberation process places priority on efficiency as shown in the Top-Down Budget Method. It comes to mind that not only the private sector but also the public sector stress innovation and efficiency. I understand that where budgets are channeled or who have planned such budgetary execution can be determined through such constitutional apparatuses as the "policy real name system."The problem is about the accountability of budgetary execution. We have witnessed cases of budgets keeping snowballing under differently changed names once the identical project was financed by the budget, as reported recently by some media outlets. The government's business management cannot be made the way as the private sector does. But those in charge of budgetary execution should no longer maintain an easy-going attitude or too inflexible thinking of mind. They should not waste any taxpayer's money, citing relevant regulation as an excuse of not saving it. Take for instance a case of a project ordered by a government agency under the jurisdiction of the National Assembly Finance and Economy Committee on which I sits. The agency allotted budget amounts as twice as the construction bidding price, but it cannot take any action due to relevant regulations.
In a word, it is important to need constitutional reforms so as to improve efficiency of budgetary execution, but it is also essential as much as that the persons in charge of execution on the site have to change their attitude. They need to recognize the budget as precious assets people offer for the operation of the nation, not free money. I, as a member of Special Committee of Budget & Accounts, will make my utmost to find magic bullets on operation so as to make the accounts assessment process effective.
Q: Would you introduce your activities as a member of the National Assembly Special Committee on Climate Change?
A:The world concern over global warning has mounted since the Kyoto Protocol went into effect last February. As six countries, including South Korea and the United States, recently agreed to the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate on the sidelines of the ASEAN-plus-three meeting in Vientiane, Laos, a reduction of carbon dioxide emission levels has emerged as a significant task entailing economic effects.
Greenhouse gas emission reduction is expected to serve as an important factor in inter-state trade in the years to come. In this regard, the National Assembly established the Special Committee on Climate Change designed to address global warming, and the committee has since held three meetings for in-depth discussions.
The committee's latest meeting has so far dealt with the progress of countermeasures discussed during the previous meeting and checking the government? steps to cope with global warming issues.
As aforementioned, I think the parliament needs to proactively cope with the global warning issues in the wake of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate.
The parliamentarian committee and the government will take up such issues as expanding the scope of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and introduction of carbon taxes. It will actively consider steps to cope with possible conflicts government subsidies in environment-friendly projects may cause under the World Trade Organization regime.
Q: Would you tell our readers about your activities as a member of the National Assembly Gender Equality and Family Committee?
A: Upon seeing a report that Korea's women economically active population has topped the 10 million mark, I resolved to make strenuous efforts to institutionalize regimes concerning the arrival of the women era in the 21st Century. Even though economically active women are on a sharp rise, the downside of the situation is that our society is still not an environment conducive for working women.
Despite the talks about the ushering of the women era, the reality is that Korea lack support for nursery and lags behind an awareness toward women's human rights.
The Uri Party inaugurated a nursery support policy corps, designed to develop policies on nursery and support it. I'm actively conducting activities after taking the helms of the corps. As to mid- and long-term plans, I will check the budgetary allocation of childcare policies and implementation. I will contemplate a system of relieving working couple of financial burden on childcare and a plan to exempt families with children form income tax. I will see to it that public organizations abide by the women employment quota, while conducting activities to prevent an infringement of women's human rights after consulting with women's and judiciary organizations.
Q: Would you elaborate on your activities designed to build a transparent society?
A: We learned a lesson after paying for a great price on the consequences, caused by the distortion of social transparency in the late 1997. We cannot underestimate the importance of transparent society like the correction of distorted procedure and raw resources distribution.
The nation has to attain economic transparency so as to make our society, based on democracy and market economy, more transparent. Such a transparency can be attained when economic entities regain trust and confidence. But the problem is that the government, conglomerates and other several economic entities do not still conduct behaviors that can give trust to other partners.
Trust can be attained by making good on promises members of society have agreed. My comment made on five principles and three implementation decrees on reforming conglomerates, during the National Assembly extraordinary session in June, purported bid for regaining mutual trust among economic entities.
Q: Would you say about your activities concerning your constituent district of Dongjak-gu?
A: Dongjak-gu is faced with residential, educational and traffic problems. I envisages the "New Dongjak Project 2008,"aimed at making the district a rich, wonderful one. I'll put more energy into laying a solid foundation for developing Dongjak-gu into one of exemplary districts not only in Seoul but also in the world.
Taking the most use of his experiences as CEO, I will introduce advanced restructuring methods in drafting and implementing the Dongjak-gu development plans. Corporate restructuring methods need to be introduced rather than case-by-case approaches since the district is being formed naturally. In the first step to this move, I removed the walls of Seoul National Cemetery at the heart of the district in a bid to make the cemetery a pleasant and resting place for residents.
Secondly, I will actively seek to renovate educational facilities through Build, Transfer and Lease (BTL) projects. I will ask for government support to the development of the district, in a dire financial situation.
Finally, I will deal with issues related to educational conditions, an essential cause of real estate price hikes, one of social woes. As one of the major tasks during my parliamentarian activities, I will make efforts to address issues about educational environment, including readjusting educational conditions within the district. nw

Lee Kye-ahn, a CEO-turned first-term parliamentarian, takes time out to mingle with the residents of his electoral district in Seoul.
Lee Kye-Ahn, a member of the Uri Party, shakes hands with a woman participant during a hiking for the handicapped people, part of his cause of helping the underprivileged.
Rep. Lee talks with a resident beside Seoul National Cemetery at the heart of the district of Gwanak-gu whose walls have been removed at his request for making the cemetery a pleasant and resting place for residents.