hankyoreh

staff photographer)

By Park Jung-soo, business correspondent

On Nov. 28, the Hankyoreh met with Kim Jong-in, chair of the Public Happiness Promotion Committee for the Saenuri Party (NFP), at his private office at the Research Institute for Korean Development Strategies in Seoul’s Jongno district. During the interview, Kim said, "I don't think that [NFP] presidential candidate Park Geun-hye is lying when she says that she will work for economic democracy, but she doesn't fully understand the concept."

"Park is not an economic expert, but I thought that if I believed in her she would accept my ideas to some extent. However, there are just too many people in her circle who are opposed to economic democracy," Kim said regretfully.

"It doesn't matter if it's the ruling party or the opposition. If all they do is treat economic democracy as just an election slogan and don't implement it properly, within a year or two they will find themselves in the same boat as their predecessors Roh Moo-hyun and Lee Myung-bak," warned Kim.

"Before the election, I'll come up with my position on all this. Look at Confucius. He traveled the world and spoke with many princes. When they didn't listen to his advice, did he just sit there quietly? Of course not. I’m not the sort to keep quiet just to stay safe."

Bringing about economic democracy is the only reason that Kim joined the NFP to help Park. It is clear that he is firmly resolved not to stand aside if that objective is endangered.

Kim is critical of Park's decision to switch to the two-pronged election strategy of economic democracy and economic growth.

"People keep telling Park that the economy is in trouble, so she gets obsessed with growth in the manner of [her father and former Korean president] Park Chung-hee. Thinking that economic democracy gets in the way of economic growth indicates just how insufficient her understanding of reality is."

He was equally dismissive of the suggestion to adjust the rate of economic democratization in the face of the economic crisis. "That's a ridiculous idea. People who talk like that have no conception of economic democracy. I’d like to ask why the rates of economic growth under the Lee Myung-bak government were so poor if economic democracy is disruptive to growth. This logic shows the lack of understanding of reality. Look at his “747 promises”- none of that was realized" (The “747 promises made by Lee were 7% economic growth, per capita income of $40,000 and making South Korea the world’s seventh biggest economy.)

Nor is Kim particularly happy with the details of Park's pledge to achieve economic democracy. "Economic democracy cannot be achieved solely through regulations that mete out punishment based on results. It’s also necessary to make an effort to change the economic structure that is the root cause of the problem," he said, criticizing Park’s decision not to include measures to reform the control structure of chaebol.

Kim was hesitant to respond to the Hankyoreh's request for an interview. When he reflected on how the NFP had courted him when he seemed useful and then ignored him when he was not, he wanted to quit right away. Yet it was clear that he was staying aboard because of his personal relationship with Park, which went back years. 

At last, we received word that Kim, after talking to several close acquaintances and mulling the matter over, had finally made up his mind on his position. Another fact was that Kim's book "Why We Need Economic Democracy Now," published by Donghwa Press, was released at the end of November 2012.

Hankyoreh(Hani): Don’t you see a problem with Park’s decision to change her election strategy from the single issue of economic democracy to the two issues of growth and economic democracy? Setting economic democracy alongside growth (creating jobs and expanding investment) could be seen as a concession to chaebol.

Kim Jong-in: Saying that democratizing the economy is an impediment to growth is simply incorrect. Economic democratization began in the countries that lost the Second World War: Japan and Germany. Under the direction of the Allies, these two countries implemented democracy and along with it a system that increased economic efficiency. In Japan, Douglas MacArthur had the chaebols broken up. This didn't hurt economic efficiency - it helped it!

Or look at American society. In each election, debate has centered on health care reform. In 2008, the American economy was in a recession, but Obama won when he pledged to reform healthcare. And he did reform it the following year, when the US economy contracted. What if Obama had decided to focus on growth first, and reforms later? Do you think he would have been reelected?

Hani: Is Park using economic democracy just to get elected?

Kim: Whoever ends up in the Blue House, if economic democracy is no more than a fancy slogan, there are going to be problems managing the economy in the future. We've seen this kind of thing before. Why do you think we had that situation at the end of the 1970s? [When former president Park Chung-hee aided the growth of the economy but suffered an ignominious demise after being assassinated by a close subordinate.] When you're in a sticky situation but you keep procrastinating and looking for other ways to deal with the problem, in the end something even worse will happen.

Hani: Are you suggesting that if we don't democratize the economy there will sooner or later be an even greater social cost to pay?

Kim: In a word, yes. Remember American scholar Francis Fukuyama? He called the fall of the Berlin Wall “the end of history” and argued that democratic capitalism is the only way forward. More recently, he decided to take back what he said about history being over. In order to combine democracy and capitalism, we need to make certain adjustments to capitalism. Today, certain people are even talking about “progressive capitalism.”

Hani: It is doubtful that the NFP will really be able to democratize the economy if they win the election.

Kim: It's all up to Park. If she doesn't work for economic democracy, it won't be long before she will be rejected by the Korean people.

Hani: In your book, you stated emphatically that democracy and capitalism cannot continue without economic democratization.

Kim: In order to find solutions to the problems we face today, we need some major reforms. This is not something we can just leave to a few bureaucrats. We all know it’s the chaebol who really control this society. Even the media is implicated, as they rely on advertising from big corporations, and intellectuals are not free from their influence.

What we need is an informed leader in power who can count upon the people's support to push the reforms through. Whether the Saenuri Party or Democratic United Party win this election, if they don't reform the system, within two or three years they are bound to face the same fate as previous presidents.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]