Let the president focus on what he does best

If the president applies his bulldozing style to structural reform, his supporters will return.

Suh Kyoung-ho

The author is an editorialwriter of the JoongAng Ilbo. “It could be better if the president concentrates on what he does well,” a government official handling economic affairs observed privately. I could not agree more. The conversation took place before the crushing defeat by the People Power Party (PPP) in the by-election to elect the head of western Seoul’s Gangseo District, so the relationship between the president office at Yongsan and the governing party was not as chilly as it is now.

But since the PPP’s overwhelming defeat in the by-election last week, many people inside and outside the party have started pouring criticism on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s one-way communication and governance style, drumming up calls for an overhaul in the way he runs the government. Few would disagree. The omnipotent presidential office has belittled the governing party and government offices, not to mention the deepening discordance with the Democratic Party (DP). The president’s critical lack of cooperation with the majority party has dogged the ruling front since he took office last year.

As President Yoon spent his whole career in the prosecution, he was a rookie politician with no experience as a lawmaker. His uprightness as a prosecutor defying unjust orders from the higher hierarchy — as perfectly epitomized by his statement that he does not serve a person, no matter who it is — helped make him the prosecutor general and later the head of the state.

The president only knows to throw straight balls. Former president Moon Jae-in may have been confounded by Yoon after appointing him as chief prosecutor. Yoon no longer has a boss to defy, except for the people if you will. If his my-way style is not contained, it would be the people who would be confounded this time.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, presides over a meeting to discuss the 2023 fiscal strategy of the government at the Blue House on June 28. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The straightforward president must learn to control himself to broaden his spectrum for recruiting people, cooperate with the opposition, and explain state affairs more faithfully to the people. Given the past 18 months of his presidency, however, it will not be easy for him to reflect on the tumultuous past and start over. If so, why not put his strong character to better use — or focus on the areas where such strong determination is needed?

The government official pointed out “restructuring” as an area where the president can excel. Restructuring refers to a program to save a sound company from temporary financial peril, while letting uncompetitive companies whither in the market. Delinquent companies barely surviving on outside funding only whittle down the market shares that should have gone to vibrant ones. Of 25,135 corporations subject to outside audits last year, 15.5 percent did not earn enough to pay off their debt interest for three consecutive years. Zombie companies must go under to make the economy healthier.

On the economic front, the Yoon administration deserves praise for restoring the rule to safeguard fiscal integrity. The DP cannot understand why the government is so stingy during an economic downturn. But tightening is necessary as government debt already exceeded 1,100 trillion won ($811.5 billion) this year and will increase further next year. The government must resist the temptation to resort to a fiscal stimuli and monetary input to bump up the growth rate. An immediate slump is an inevitable consequence of restructuring.

President Yoon must prioritize public livelihood and the economy over ideology. Although public livelihood should be improved, the government must not surrender to populism. Populist policies are often packaged as a panacea to improve people’s livelihoods. The government and the PPP could be tempted to resort to populism with less than six months left before the next parliamentary election in April. But the president must keep to his self-assured instinct on fiscal integrity.

The president must choose the areas he must focus on to administer state affairs instead of stepping in all areas. The reforms in the labor, pension and education sectors all demand the president’s straightforward instinct. Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said that our potential growth rate could go over the 2 percent threshold if the government can complete structural reform. “The decision is up to the people and politics,” he said.

President Yoon must keep his straight character to check interest groups and cartels as he pledged before. He must make a stand against them and speak out for a majority of the people. Expanding the quota for medical school enrollment, which is strongly opposed by the medical community, is a good example. If the president applies his bulldozing style to structural reform, the voters who cheered at his famous “uppercut” gesture during presidential campaigning will return.