Ñòðàíèöà: 12/13
Reform backed by the Korean people
The Korean people’s deep support of President Kim’s comprehensive reform agenda has been reflected in the Korean leader’s strong public approval rating. President Kim has fared consistently well in public opinion polls which indicate that his reform policies continue to enjoy the support of a solid majority of Koreans.
Ethics Reform
To maintain the public’s trust, President Kim has pledged to create a corruption-free political environment by establishing high ethical standards for the members of his administration and political party. Symbolizing his strong commitment to this goal on February 27, 1993, just two days after his inauguration President Kim disclosed all of his financial assets to the public, and encouraged all senior cabinet and ruling party figures to do the same. A number of his government’s newly appointed officials were forced to resign for their past unethical financial conduct and President Kim declared that there would be “no sanctuary” from his clean-up campaign. He stressed that the new ethical standards “must be internalized and become a way of life” for all Koreans.
In order to institutionalize the disclosure of public officials’ assets, the existing Public Officials’ Ethics Act as revised in June 1993, and ranking government officials are now required to register and disclosure their assets under this law. As a result of the clean-up drive resulting from the asset disclosure, 1,363 public officials were dismissed for malfeasance and 242 were forced to resign due to improperly acquired wealth.
President Kim’s inauguration brought to an end the deep involvement of the military in Korea’s political arena. Corruption in the armed forces, long a taboo subject, became a focus of the new reform drive. Promotion kickback scandals were uncovered, and a number of senior military officers have been removed from their posts. The Administration has also investigated and taken legal action against defense procurement irregularitites. At the same time, Prsident Kim has moved to depoliticize the government bureaucracy. In particular, he has reformed the nation’s intelligence apparatus, ending its involvement in domestic politics and directing it to focus solely on Korea’s national security concerns.
President Kim has taken steps to reform the Office of the President itself. The President’s residence and office complex, Chong Wa Dae, better known as a Blue House, has been made more accessible to the public. For the first time in decades, the avenue in front of the Blue House is now open to traffic, as are the scenic mountain hiking trails adjacent to the presidential residence. Gone are the lavish Blue House meals once served to staff and guests. Instead, everyone, including the President himself, dines on simple yet traditional Korean cuisine.
Financial Reform
Following this reform to require the disclosure of personal assets by public officials, President Kim Young Sam boldly introduced a real-name financial transaction system in order to achieve fundamental structural reform that will greatly assist in the realization of economic justice and clean government.
This real-name financial transaction system, which was put into effect by an emergency presidential decree on August 12, 1993 is the core of the entire reform movement, “the reform of all reforms.” This reform is helping eradicate misconducts and realize economic justice by rectifying the distorted economic structure and income distribution caused by underground economic activities and real estate speculation and by cutting shady financial ties between politicians and businessmen. In order to join the ranks of advanced countries, Korea must eradicate the corruption and irregularities stemming from certain aspects of past administrations’ pursuance of rapid growth-oriented economic development.
Ðåôåðàò îïóáëèêîâàí: 13/06/2006