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‘Unification is like hitting jackpot’

January 6, 2014

South Korean President Park Geun-hye listens to a journalist during her New Year’s press conference at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday, Jan. 6, 2014. Park called for resuming reunions of families separated by the Korean War in the early 1950s. (AP /Yonhap)

President Park Geun-hye said that unification would be a huge boon for the nation’s economic growth and likened the potential benefits of it to hitting the jackpot.

She disclosed on Monday how she will govern the country at a New Year press conference in the presidential office. The following is a summary of her comments, arranged according to key phrases.

‘Daebak’

Some people question if we really need to unify with North Korea, but in a word, inter-Korean unification would amount to “daebak” or hitting the jackpot for all Koreans and an opportunity for us to take a great leap forward.

Next year will mark 70 years of national division. If the Republic of Korea is going to take a leap forward, we should free ourselves from inter-Korean confrontation and nuclear threats, and establish an era of unification. We should make preparations for this.

Four-character Chinese idiom (Korean-Chinese relations)

With the New Year upon us, Korea and China describe the months ahead with a four-character Chinese idiom, illustrating our bilateral closeness.

轉迷開悟 (jeonmigaeoh), was chosen as a phrase to characterize 2014, meaning to hold no illusions about fallacies and realize the truth.

I believe this idiom is an equivalent phrase used to describe Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign.

When it comes to the future of our bilateral relations, our two countries have been building our closest ties ever in order to become strategic partners.

In the future, I hope that our relations will contribute to peace and stability in Northeast Asia.

Lack of communication

I know there is much discussion about my lack of communication. However, I do not believe good communication amounts to compromising what is best for the national interest.

So far, our society has yielded to obstinate badgering, but it is not right to describe a lack of communication as a rejection of wrongdoing.

In order to pursue effective communication, all of us should respect the law and abide by it regardless of our social position.

Cabinet reshuffle

I am not considering a Cabinet shakeup at all. I have a lot of work to do in the second year of my presidency.

As all government departments need to work together, there should be consistency in how our work progresses.

In past administrations, there were many Cabinet reshuffles in order to cope with the political situation, but I stand against conducting such reorganizations.

Due to the late revision of the Government Organization Act, Cabinet members have performed their duties for only 10 months and I agree with the criticism that quick substitutions of ministers increases the likelihood of gaps in government administration.

The tenure of each minister in the past governments averaged 14 months; though it needs time before each minister to adjust to their jobs.

When I think there is a need to reshuffle the Cabinet, I will proceed with it.

Chronic abnormalities

There are many “chronic abnormalities” in the economy. I will work hard to root these out in order to build an economy based on a strong foundation.

Among other things, we will start reforming the public sector. Some public organizations are having difficulty to even pay interest owed on the debt they owe from their operating profits.