hankyoreh

South Korea needs to sincerely consider disarmament, according to leading Grand National Party (GNP) presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak. On September 12 in an interview with Yonhap News, Lee responded with the above assertion following a question regarding the possibility of easing military tensions on the Korean peninsula.

In connection with disarmament, Lee said, ``South Korea should control its arms through disarmament talks with the North." But, he added, as presented at the National Defense Reform 2020, "it will be possible to reduce South Korea's military forces to about 500,000 by 2020.''

Lee also spoke about the possibility of introducing a military recruitment system to replace the current one of roughly two years of mandatory military service for all males. ``It is necessary to seriously review the recruitment system over the long term," he said. Lee proposed the partial introduction of such a recruitment system from in the professional and advanced sectors of the military, rather than introducing it on the whole in all sections.

Speaking on another hot-button issue this election season, Lee said regarding a plan to stabilize real-estate prices, ``The government should flexibly stabilize housing prices by helping expand supply. It is better to expand housing supply in existing cities rather than establishing new towns,'' he added, indicating his intentions to ease regulations on housing policies. He also maintained that long-term owners of one house should receive tax deductions. However, he showed a prudent position about the timing of such deductions, saying that the nation first should examine possible side effects over a several-year period before putting them into place.

When asked his opinion about the ``Byeon Yang-kyoon and Shin Jeong-ah scandal,'' referring to an aide of President Roh Moo-hyun that stands accused of granting favors, Lee said ``The law should be strict on them, but their privacy should be protected.'' Lee went on to criticize President Roh, suggesting that he was too focused on other things to see any wrongdoing being committed by his aides.

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