"Our new administration is going to take all these policies not because of the requirement by the international community or the IMF, but we will take this opportunity to reform our economic system so that we can be competitive in the world economy." "The first is to increase our export volume, and the other is to induce foreign investment. "In order to rejuvenate the Korean economy, I believe we have to do two things," Kim said. Kim spoke at length about the financial crisis facing South Korea, arguing that the nation needs a thorough reform of government and of the corporate financial structures that have led it to the brink of insolvency. "The thought of doing this for five years in the Blue House makes me a little uneasy, even embarrassed." "These people are now protecting me before, they were trying to contain me," he said. Kim laughingly noted that the security agents resemble those stationed outside his home in the 1980s, when he was under house arrest in Seoul. Security officers were also stationed inside the house, where a small downstairs room has been turned into a communications center, linked to a large, temporary command center that was built on the lot next-door immediately after the election. Outside Kim's house, uniformed security guards stood on every corner for several blocks in each direction. Kim's house is just 10 miles from the tense Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas the highway to his town is lined with a fence topped with coils of barbed wire to keep North Korean agents from coming ashore from the Han River. Kim spoke over a breakfast of hot cereal, eggs, ham, sausage and fruit in the dining room of his two-story stone house, nestled into a community of comfortable, single-family houses 20 miles north of Seoul. Two days after his 74th birthday, Kim Dae Jung appeared rested, robust and confident as he discussed the triumph and tragedy of his life and the severe problems facing the nation he will lead after he is sworn in on Feb. Kim Dae Jung said that his hopes to engage the Pyongyang government more openly, perhaps even through a meeting with reclusive leader Kim Jong Il, were well known to the North Koreans and "we are just waiting for their response." troops to deter aggression from Stalinist North Korea.Īnd Kim, who is seen as far more moderate toward the North than outgoing President Kim Young Sam, said he will move "aggressively" to provide emergency food aid to the famine-stricken North. He supported the continued presence of 37,000 U.S. Kim described South Korea's relationship with the United States as "mutually beneficial" on matters of economic trade and security. Although the IMF is requiring tough reforms that are expected to lead to unprecedented layoffs and corporate bankruptcies, Kim, who has close ties with the nation's militant labor unions, said he believes he can negotiate a deal to avert massive strikes, which would hamper the recovery of the world's 11th-largest economy. Kim also reaffirmed his "100 percent commitment" to the $57 billion bailout of his country's crippled economy by the International Monetary Fund. "If parents can tell their kids, `Look at Kim Dae Jung: Live upright, put your effort into a good cause and you will be successful,' then I think my life would be very meaningful," said Kim, who won the presidency last month on his fourth attempt in a quarter-century. Kim, a crusader for democracy and human rights who was imprisoned, exiled and sentenced to death, and who survived assassination attempts at the hands of South Korea's previous military dictators, also said he hopes his life will inspire his nation's youth. "I believe that the fundamental cause of the financial crisis, including here in Korea, is because of placing economic development ahead of democracy." "They concentrated only on economic development," he said, without singling out any nations but referring to "Asian-style democracy," in which governments are built around a strong leader who controls economic policy. "Many of the leaders of Asian society have been saying that military dictatorship was the way and democracy was not good for their nations," Kim said in a wide-ranging 90-minute interview at his home in this suburb of Seoul. 8-President-elect Kim Dae Jung today blamed much of Asia's devastating financial crisis on governments that "lie" to their people and "authoritarian" leaders who place economic growth ahead of democratic freedoms.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |