Find the right commander for reform success

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday appointed Kim Moon-soo, head of the presidential Economic, Social, and Labor Council, as the new minister for employment and labor. Kim, a three-term lawmaker and two-term governor for Gyeonggi...

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday appointed Kim Moon-soo, head of the presidential Economic, Social, and Labor Council, as the new minister for employment and labor. Kim, a three-term lawmaker and two-term governor for Gyeonggi, is well qualified with hands-on experience in the labor field as well as the legislative and executive branches to take up the mission of labor reform, said presidential chief of staff Chung Jin-suk. The choice however riled the main opposition as well as the union.

The Democratic Party (DP) sneered that a confirmation hearing was pointless, accusing the appointment as a cartel of the Yoon government. The militant Federation of Korean Trade Unions slammed the nomination as “anti-labor.”

Kim had been a labor activist in his youthhood. But he often came under fire for fiery and biased remarks. While serving as Gyeonggi governor in 2019, he said that then-president Moon Jae-in could be sentenced to death for his wrongdoings during office as they were much heavier than those of presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye serving prison terms for power abuse. He was kicked out of a parliamentary hearing in 2022 for accusing Moon of being a follower of the ideology of Kim Il Sung for publicly honoring progressive scholar Shin Yong-bok.

Seating him to head the tripartite committee to referee between employers and employees for social consensus caused plenty of eye-rolling and head-shaking as many were doubtful if he could persuade the unions and legislative. Reform issues of addressing the rigidity in working hours and the dual structure in the labor market all require legislative amendments and endorsements from the majority opposition.

The Agenda 2010 initiated by German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder remains a landmark labor reform achievement. Germany, dubbed as a European patient amid high unemployment and a slack economy in the wake of unification, was revived through a series of reform schemes. He lost the ruling power because of his unpopular policy, but his initiative is still remembered as a legacy.

Finding the right commander is a key to the success in reform. Schröder launched the Committee for Modern Services in the Labor Market and brought in Peter Hartz, a human resources executive of Volkswagen, to spearhead the reform drive. The committee mapped out the Hartz Concept to loosen the rigidity in the labor market and scale back unemployment benefits that eventually was put into laws. The Hartz plan has become synonymous with Agenda 2010, or the Schröder reform. During a visit to Korea, Hartz stressed on the buildup of social consensus on top of political leadership and fiscal strength to succeed in labor reform.

Kim must pay heed to Hartz’s advice on a social consensus buildup. Even as none of government policies can gain impetus without the approval of the opposition-dominating legislature, the president goes on making key appointments that can irk the opposition. Many sneer that the president must be merely watching conservative-friendly YouTube. Recruiting able and balanced figures to the right position at the right time will be the best way to liven up the feeble governance engine.