President Roh Moo-hyun took office on Feb. 25, 2003. His rise.to power was based on wide public support, with voluntary.fundraising and campaigning by citizens during the campaign. The.transition of power was conducted smoothly with President Kim’s.full support and blessing. Roh promised prosperity, reform, peace and new opportunities on.the Korean Peninsula in his inauguration speech. Calling national.integration “the most important task of our time,” he outlined his.hope for a society in which hard work receives the greatest.rewards while discrimination, parochialism and the gap between the.haves and have-nots are all eliminated.
The so-called “participatory” government has set 12 top policy.goals for the next five years. First, build a firm foundation for.peace on the Korean Peninsula. Second, ensure a corruption-free.society and improve government service. Third, promote balanced.national development and diffusion of power. Fourth, reform.politics based on participation and consolidation. Fifth,.guarantee free and fair market order. Sixth, develop South Korea.into an economic hub of Northeast Asia. Seventh, build a science.and technology-centered society. Eighth, build a brighter future.for the agricultural and fishery communities. Ninth, improve.participatory welfare and quality of life. Tenth, achieve national.harmony and gender equality. Eleventh, carry out educational.reform and build a knowledge- and culture-based society. Lastly,.build a labor-management relationship for social consolidation.
President Roh’s biggest task in the international sphere is.maintaining a peaceful atmosphere with North Korea, which is.threatened by Pyongyang’s determination to acquire nuclear weapons..In his inauguration speech, Roh made it clear that South Korea.will only aid North Korea economically when Pyongyang gives up its.nuclear weapons development program. However, he has stood firmly.against resolving tension through military means, saying he would.not go along with the United States, the country’s number one ally,.if it planned to attack the North’s nuclear development facilities.
Despite the growing dispute over Pyongyang’s possession of.weapons of mass destruction, families separated since the Korean.War are still being permitted to hold reunions, mainly at Mount.Kumgang, North Korea. President Roh’s government is still carrying.out economic projects that began with the support of the previous.administration. In devising his cabinet, President Roh retained the chief North.Korea policymaker. Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun was the key.architect of former President Kim’s policy of engagement. This.affirmed Roh’s vow to continue the previous administration’s.policy. Another notable cabinet appointment was the first female.justice minister. Kang Gum-sil, a 46-year-old lawyer, is not only.the first female minister in a traditionally male dominated.profession, but represents a break from the tradition of promoting.officials based on seniority. Roh’s government is still in an early stage, but its success.will depend on its achievement of the 12 policy goals, promises.that President Roh made to the public.