Conditions for a Successful Presidency in 2017

"The Republic of Korea yearns for a successful president more than ever before."

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A President's Success is the Nation's Success

On March 10th, the first incumbent president in the history of the Republic of Korea's constitution was impeached, leading to a snap presidential election on May 9th. As indicated by the high voter turnout of 77.2%, public interest in this election was higher than ever, and consequently, expectations for the new president are also great. In the past, presidents often raised public expectations with plausible pledges and visions, but frequently disappointed the public by revealing shortcomings in actual state administration. These failures in state administration were the result of a complex interplay of various factors, including presidential leadership, the times, and structural political issues. Therefore, for the president to successfully administer the state, appropriate diagnosis and prescription of these factors are necessary. Accordingly, EAI, through "Conditions for a Successful Presidency in 2017," proposes the following to ensure a more successful execution of the presidential duties.

Proposals for Successful Presidential State Administration

In Chapter 1, Professor Park Hyung-joon defines the Presidential Office as a mechanism that organically manages relationships with the executive branch, the National Assembly, political parties, the business community, and civil society, serving as a 보좌조직 (support organization) to the president. It functions as a device to enhance the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the institutional system. Therefore, he argues that the president's work can only be properly supported if the Presidential Office itself is designed with a structure of high institutional complementarity. As measures for this, he suggests organizational reforms such as operating a parallel dual system of a National Task Force Director and a Communication Director, designing a matrix-type organization for organic linkage, establishing a National Task Force Deliberation Committee, and appointing an SNS Secretary.

In Chapter 2, Professor Kim Jae-il proposes measures for the government to pursue an open government that enhances public trust, based on the principles of open government promotion strategies. He argues that to enhance public trust, a control tower with the authority to exercise strong leadership must be designated, and corresponding personnel must be allocated to effectively carry out assigned tasks. He emphasizes the need for continuous education for public officials on the importance of government trust and how procedural openness, transparency, and accountability play crucial roles in government trust.

In Chapter 3, Professor Han Kyu-sup examines the desirable state administration and communication methods for the president in the changed political and media environment. Based on the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, who was elected with a strong base of support, the chapter focuses on analyzing the constraints on presidential state administration that differ from the past and the problems in former President Park's communication methods. He identifies issues such as the appointment of a Public Relations Senior Secretary who reverted to past practices, an exclusive focus on 'growth-firstism,' and communication skewed towards the president's supporters. Based on this analysis, he suggests measures such as organically integrating policy planning and public relations, appointing a Public Relations Senior Secretary with a high understanding of changes in the political and media environment, and utilizing big data to grasp public opinion trends.

In Chapter 4, Professor Lee Dong-kyu explains the reasons for the government's systematic failure to respond to national disasters such as the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, the Sewol ferry disaster, the MERS outbreak, and the Gyeongju earthquake, and its repeated failures in disaster management. He points to the absence of a strong control tower during disasters, insufficient pre-disaster response systems, and ambiguity in the scope of systematic management for complex and special disasters. As solutions, he proposes upgrading the Ministry of Public Safety and Security to a Ministry of Public Safety and elevating its authority and responsibility to integrate and coordinate specialized agencies.

In Chapter 5, Professor Han Seung-joon presents the desirable direction for public institution reform in the next government, based on the promotion efforts, achievements, and limitations of public institution reforms by past governments. While past governments are evaluated to have achieved considerable results in terms of privatization, restructuring, and management efficiency of public institutions, issues such as parachute appointments and lax management remain largely unresolved. Based on this critical perspective, he argues that the new government should pursue public institution reform in a direction that enhances the autonomy of public institutions, rather than focusing on 'showcase administration' or short-term results.

In Chapter 6, Professor Han Jeong-hoon points out that in Korea's budget decision-making process, the executive branch holds excessive power, while the legislature's function of checking and controlling the executive is weak, and it bears an excessive responsibility for legislation. To resolve this, he argues that the principles of checks and balances underpinning the presidential system must be strengthened, and the existing government-party consultation council must be enabled to perform its substantive functions. To this end, strengthening the National Assembly's expertise is essential, which can be achieved through improvements in the standing committee system, such as strengthening the functions of the National Assembly Budget Office and separating the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts.

In Chapter 7, Professor Na Tae-joon examines the causes and current status of various conflicts our society is experiencing and presents solutions. As measures to alleviate ideological conflict, he proposes securing the president's conflict management leadership based on political compromise, persuasion, coordination, and mediation, strengthening the policy research institute functions within political parties, and enhancing democratic citizen education. To overcome class conflict, he states that it is urgent to design an inclusive system oriented towards inclusive growth, establish the legitimacy of wealth accumulation processes, and prepare policies for long-term and fundamental improvement of social mobility and resolution of educational disparities. Alongside these improvements, he suggests that the enactment of a basic law on conflict, the establishment of a communication structure for integration, and the institutionalization of policy pledge registration and realistic evaluation must precede these efforts.

Finally, in Chapter 8, Professor Kim Tae-young examines the future direction of local autonomy in Korea based on the main issues concerning local autonomy. As development measures for local autonomy, from an institutional perspective, he proposes proactive measures to overcome the centralized political and administrative culture, including diversity in institutional composition, cooperative governance between equal governments, mandatory adjustment of the '20% autonomy' (2할 자치), expansion of elected officials at the frontline town/township/neighborhood level, revitalization of resident autonomy committees, and legalization of other experimental local communities. ■

Table of Contents

Foreword

I Introduction: The Path to a Successful State Administration ■ Lee Sook-jong

II Government Operation Methods for a Successful President

Chapter 1: Presidential Office Organization and Operation Methods for Realizing Core National Tasks and Restoring Public Trust ■ Park Hyung-joon

Chapter 2: Open Government Promotion Strategies for Enhancing Government Trust ■ Kim Jae-il

Chapter 3: Presidential Communication Principles and Strategies for Achieving Public Empathy ■ Han Kyu-sup

Chapter 4: Comprehensive National Disaster Management System Enhancement Measures for Improving Public Safety Perception ■ Lee Dong-kyu

Chapter 5: Sustainable Public Institution Reform that Responds to Public Demand and Minimizes Trial and Error ■ Han Seung-joon

III State Governance Operation Strategies for a Successful President

Chapter 6: Cooperation between the Executive and Legislative Branches: Focusing on the Budget Decision-Making Process ■ Han Jeong-hoon

Chapter 7: Public Conflict Resolution Principles and Directions for National Integration ■ Na Tae-joon

Chapter 8: Principles and Directions for Local Autonomy and Decentralization Satisfactory to Both Residents and Government ■ Kim Tae-young