hankyoreh

‘Lost decade’ or ‘recovered decade’?

Controversy continues in political circles over how to evaluate the ten years under former president Kim Dae-jung (1998-2003) and incumbent president Roh Moo-hyun (2003-present).

In a commemorative speech for the 20th anniversary of the June 10 pro-democracy movement, President Roh said, "In the past, the establishment and conservative media had consistently talked about the ‘incompetent democracy camp’ in order to oppose reforms and block progressive moves. They want to seize power with the help of the previous authoritarian tenets, not democratic values and policies."

In particular, Roh raised the issue of the "responsibility of the dictatorship camp" as a counterattack against conservatives, recently citing the ten years under Roh and Kim as the "lost decade."

"The economic crisis in 1997 was prompted as old systems under authoritarian rule, such as government-ordered finance and economy, weren’t rapidly reformed and repaired," the president said. "Throughout a perfect change of political power, a perfect democratic government swiftly and thoroughly overcame the crisis."

Former president Kim, in a June 9 speech to commemorate the pro-democracy movement, also denounced the argument of the ‘lost decade.’ "[The past ten years] is not a ‘lost decade,’ but a ‘recovered decade’ that has let people regain the democracy lost over the preceding half-century," he said.

The ‘lost decade’ is one of the core phrases the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) is expected to continue to raise leading up to the presidential election this December.

Potential candidate Park Geun-hye, a former head of the GNP, has said, "Let’s recover the past ten years through a change of political power."

Rep. Kim Hyeong-oh, the party’s floor leader, said, "For the ten years from 1997 to this year, a so-called left-wing camp has ruled, and we call this period a ‘lost decade.’ During this period, we lost our national identity, future vision, and growth momentum," he said.

Former Seoul mayor and potential candidate Lee Myung-bak of the GNP said in an interview with The Hankyoreh that the ten years under the Kim and Roh administrations can be viewed as a ‘lost decade’ in terms of economic slowdown and growth of social disparity. "For the past ten years, the economy has boomed and reinvigorated around the world. However, we have faced economic slowdown with investment shrinking and companies going abroad. As a result, low-income people have suffered from higher unemployment rates."

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