[Editorial] FTA With USA, Not a Question of ‘Confidence’
During a format called “Internet Dialogue with the People” on Thursday, president Roh Moo Hyun said the “key cause of economic disparity is the real estate gap,” and that while some people in certain quarters don’t take the August 31 Real Estate Measures seriously, they are not to be laughed at. It was timely and appropriate for the man ultimately responsible for affairs of state to express firm resolve on the issue when the price of real estate in and around Seoul’s Gangnam neighborhood have been rising again. Indeed, however, many people do think the policy announced August 31, 2005 will soon fizzle out like other actions taken previously. It is important that there is implementation on policy designed to keep speculative investment out of real estate. Only by doing so will policy be seen by the people as reliable.
While he did not discuss concrete solutions for the problem of socioeconomic disparity, he also did not exclude the possibility of a tax increase. We think that such an increase would be worth considering as long as there is a social consensus on the need for it. The ruling and opposition camps in the National Assembly need to not approach the issue from a strategizing standpoint, and discuss actual ways to reduce the disparity in a short amount of time.
About the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, the president said “Let’s face it with confidence,” and so his understanding of the situation is very concerning. If things go wrong an FTA with the U.S. could be fatal poison to the Korean economy, so we need to be assessing what’s to be gained and what could be lost and getting thoroughly prepared for what would happen in areas Korea is weak in. It is not a question of confidence. We hope that he does not approach it as something that has to be finalized while he is still in office. It was also disappointing to hear him say the National Intelligence Service (NIS) has changed a lot when there has been no structural reform there. Unless the structure of the organization is changed it could always return to its old ways.
Having dialogue with the country over the internet was a is a new format and so the event was meaningful for that reason alone, but it cannot be a replacement for “orthodox politics” such as making a speech at the National Assembly. We hope to see him more actively engage in dialogue with political entities such as the Assembly, as that is no less important than dialogue with the people.
The Hankyoreh, 24 March 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]