[Editorial] Economic Recovery Should Abide By Principles of Cooperation and Fair Competition

At last, the Open Uri Party, which set forth with the goal of caring for the economic crisis and the hardships of livelihood as a minority in National Parliament, has won a majority in the 17th general election. Asserting that it would remake itself into a party which concentrates on the practical problems of livelihood, the Grand National Party could barely garner 40 percent of National Parliament seats to become the first opposition party. The Democratic Labor Party, which promised to open the door of happiness to the masses, has become the third party with its advance into the parliament for the first time. The three parties should answer the call of people. The political uncertainty, which has prevented economic recovery so far, should vanish immediately.

Our economy has been drowning in a structural dilemma, in which mere clues of virtue are hard to locate. Maintaining high prosperity to develop the system of distribution to improve the life of the people, and strengthening national competitiveness to prepare for promising future are examples of virtue. But the reality is burdened by a vicious circle of conditions.

Though the amount of exports has been ever increasing, the economic growth rate of last year barely managed to reach three percent. Consumption and investment have shrunk, and long-term potential for growth has rapidly collapsed. Failing to make more job openings, causing individual bankruptcies, increasing the amount of household departments, and preventing the economy from recovering are the reciprocally related examples this vicious circle. Together with unstable public prices, the vicious circle leads to the reduction of net profit and the power of purchase. Without any enticement for investment, the fever of speculation becomes difficult to be alleviated. Finally, the anguish of being an economic underdog is growing as well.

The inane public pledges of the candidates such as, “I will handle this,” are no more than deceptions or hallucinations for this economic condition. Without concrete and valid financial countermeasures, the state of the economy will be aggravated.

The spirit of the electorate, that wishes for the fruit of impractical public pledges, should be considered first, in order to prevent it from worsening from the vicious circle.

Above all things, politicians should return to abiding by the standard of the economy that states: “Money pursues profits.” When the government forms favorable conditions for domestic investment rather than that overseas, companies will follow the flow naturally. If Korea becomes a safer place for investment, foreign capital will be collected. As a result of all these measures, job openings will increase and the vitality of consumption will recover its original position. When exports, investment, and consumption boost the economy simultaneously, the economy will be discover its proper seat in the orbit of the virtuous circle.

Suppressing the spirit of the businessmen with anti-business ideology, requiring only the expansion of distribution with illegal group demonstrations, denying the loading of burdens onto others, and unconditionally demanding companies to change their part-timer workers into full-time workers will aggravate the situation. As for the means and targets of economic recovery, each party should develop an appropriate policy and find out the point of mutual agreement in order to cooperate with each other to carry out the countermeasures swiftly, without facing any obstacles.

In case each party’s countermeasures for the economic crisis conflict with others in accordance with ideological differences, fierce competition in policy-making procedure should be adopted to allow the people themselves to select the most appropriate alternative. The official parties should realize that if the hazardous economy is only dealt with through the populism approach of politicians, such as by attracting peoples‘ attention in the election campaign, an epochal mistake rather than recovery will occur.