Uri Party chairman Im Chae Jeong pledges to make the economy, national unity, peace, and reform the party's key tasks for the year ahead, and that Uri would be reborn as a party that operates with policies based in that which is practical and real. He has also announced Uri is adopting a 12 point "contract for an advanced society" that will involve all the major participating government and private parties to the national economy.
That is the right direction to take on behalf of the people's welfare and a natural course to take as the ruling party. But frankly it is hard to have any confidence in those promises when you remember Uri's poor record on reform last year. You actually wonder if the intention is to gloss over its failures in achieving reform. It's emphasis on basing policy in the practical and real (silsa gusi) looks like they're looking for an excuse. Uri abandoned its historical call to reform last year, and failed to get anything done. Since didn't finish with the task of reform in 2004 and left that work until this year, it has made things harder to spend all available effort on the economy. It should begin by reflecting on what is has and hasn't done.
Various reasons for Uri's failure to implement reform can be cited, including its lack of experience, preparation, and political skills. Those factors, however, are not enough to explain how it won a majority of seats in the National Assembly and had a solid ally in the reform drive and still was a failure. The key reason is that lost the will to achieve reform, lacking historical consciousness and having a weak sense of the times. That influenced the way calls for reform coming from within the party were suppressed and a self-censoring kind of pragmatism ruled the day. Uri needs to be sure of its own promises about reform this year, and be firm and consistent so that it does not seek to avoid the risks and responsibilities that pushing for reform inherently carries with it.
It also needs to pursue policy that is consistent with reform and the coordinates of our era. In the case of its "social contract," it should not just stop at merely mediating the confrontation and conflicts that exist in our society by having all the parties with concerns in a given issue participate in the resolution process. Mechanically choosing the middle ground to produce compromise is not the right solution. Economic recovery, social stability, and sustainable growth all originate in energetic lives led by the common people, and all discussion must keep that fact in mind. Uri must guarantee that there is ample reform in February's extraordinary National Assembly session, in relation to abolishing the National Security Law (NSL) and legislation calling for further inquiry in to recent history. It must remember that reform is a precondition for social unity.
The Hankyoreh, 19 January 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Start 2005 Reflecting on Failure to Reform |
