Park Geun-hye loyalists clash in power struggle

Lee Hahn-goo

Two key supporters of Rep. Park Geun-hye traded barbs over the term “economic democracy” Tuesday for a second day in a row, following the first round of the debate a day ago.

The clash of ideas between Kim Jong-in and Rep. Lee Hahn-koo took the form of an ideological divide over a set of measures to regulate corporate greed in the Park camp.

In an interview, Lee, floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, slammed Kim, co-chairman of Park’s presidential campaign which was launched Monday, for his characterization of Lee as a politician representing the vested interests of conglomerates.

Kim Jong-in

Lee, who worked for conglomerate Daewoo for 14 years from 1984 before becoming a lawmaker, said he didn’t feel the need to react to Kim’s negative characterization of him. “It is worthless,” Lee said.

“I don’t believe I need to comment on his remarks on economic democracy because few would understand what he meant with his choice of words (referring to economic democracy),” the floor leader said.

Lee, 67, said mainstream economists tend not to use the term, leaving room for interpretation that he regards Kim as an economist leaning toward the left.

He fired back at Kim, also an economist having served as a senior presidential secretary on economic affairs in the 1990s, as the 72-year-old sarcastically called Lee a spokesman of the conglomerates.

In a radio program Monday, Kim said he would like to ask Lee if he knew what democracy means, as the floor leader said he didn’t understand what economic democracy was.

“I think that Mr. Lee probably represents the interests of conglomerates because he had worked for one for a long time (before joining the political arena),” Kim alleged.

Kim, who also served as a member of the ruling Saenuri Party’s emergency committee led by Park, has called for measures that can regulate conglomerates to counter the negative fallout of the unbridled free market economy on working-class families.

Lee disagrees as he doesn’t see large corporations as objects to be regulated.

Their different approaches to the free market economy at a time of soaring household debt and economic hardships facing low-income families are the source of open debate on economic democracy.

The first round of the Lee-Kim bickering took place Monday as Lee fired back at Kim.

Lee said he disagreed that economic democracy is a term that is only applicable to conglomerates. “Economic democracy is usually used by political scientists, not by mainstream economists. I don’t understand what Mr. Kim wanted to say when he raised the issue,” Lee said.

This debate has its root in article 119 of the Constitution.

In the first clause, the article stipulates that the nation’s economic activities are based on corporate freedom and the creativity of individuals. In the second clause, it leaves room for state intervention in the economy for balanced growth and to counter the abuse of corporate power. <The Korea Times/Kang Hyun-kyung>

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