[2017 Study Report on Presidential Success Factors] Mediating Public Conflicts for National Integration

Abstract

Our society is experiencing various conflicts, ranging from cultural conflicts, intergenerational conflicts arising from demographic changes such as low birth rates and aging populations, class conflicts stemming from job market issues due to economic recession, to ideological conflicts that have emerged in the confrontation between candlelight and Taegeukgi rallies and the deployment of THAAD. This paper examines the causes and current status of these diverse conflicts and proposes solutions. To alleviate ideological conflicts, we suggest securing presidential conflict management leadership based on political compromise and persuasion, mediation, and arbitration; institutional reforms in the National Assembly, such as strengthening the functions of policy research institutes within political parties; and enhancing democratic civic education. To overcome class conflicts, which can be considered the most severe, it is urgent to design an integrated system oriented towards inclusive growth, establish the legitimacy of wealth accumulation, and develop long-term, fundamental policies to improve social mobility and resolve educational disparities. In a reality where empathy and communication between generations are becoming increasingly difficult, negative perceptions and conflicts between generations can be mitigated through policy proposals for mutually beneficial employment, consideration of fairness in intergenerational burdens, and the establishment of intergenerational communication channels. Alongside these improvements, efforts to promote social trust must precede, which can be achieved through the enactment of a basic law on conflict, the establishment of communication structures for integration, and the institutionalization of policy pledges and their realistic evaluation.

Main Text

“Even if the president was elected by a support base rooted in a specific ideology, they should strive to promote inter-party communication based on political tolerance and to facilitate mediation and arbitration in areas where conflicts are acute.”

“The direction of democratic civic education should involve curriculum reform to cultivate the qualities of democratic citizens within the compulsory education curriculum, and ultimately, democratic civic education should be provided at the lifelong learning level.”

“Inclusive growth emphasizes that fair opportunities must be provided to all members of our society, and the material and non-material benefits of the growth achieved must be distributed fairly.”

“An integrated system oriented towards inclusive growth must be designed by identifying virtuous cycles for the flexibilization of the class structure and activating various education, labor, and welfare policies.”

“Social respect for successful companies and wealthy individuals can only be secured through transparent and legitimate processes of wealth accumulation.”

“In the long term, it is also necessary to develop policy alternatives for fostering a culture that can lead to corporate social responsibility and simultaneously enhance the public nature of civic culture—such as expanding citizen participation, vitalizing a culture of donation, and operating educational programs to promote social integration.”

“Education is the most realistic and powerful alternative; policies to enhance social mobility through education, such as expanding equal opportunity systems, increasing investment in education to resolve educational disparities, and implementing academic achievement programs for vulnerable groups, should be central to policy.”

“For non-regular workers, to improve the low-contribution-low-benefit system, consideration can be given to a plan where social insurance contributions are set high relative to wages, and the government bears a portion of the additional amount, while also exploring ways to increase the social insurance enrollment rate.”

“Support should be strengthened to adapt to changes in the smart industrial base and create new jobs, thereby reducing the youth unemployment rate.”

“Two-way communication between generations enables understanding of different lifestyles, cultures, and values, and fosters a sense of community, thus contributing to breaking down the barriers of negative perceptions and distrust between generations.”

“Only when a merit-based society with a fair starting line, a society where diverse cultures coexist and people live together, a society that tolerates failure and allows for second chances, and a society where effort and diligence are recognized, is achieved through continuous efforts to improve laws and systems, can true social integration based on trust be realized.”

Author

Tae-joon NaProfessor, Department of Public Administration, Yonsei University. Ph.D. in Public Affairs, Indiana University. Major publications include Routledge Handbook of Global Public Policy and Administration, “The Four Major Rivers Restoration Project of South Korea,” and “Revisiting the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis.”