A Cheong Wa Dae That Communicates and Empathizes, A National Assembly That Cooperates

Since launching the project "Conditions for a Successful Presidency" in 2002, the East Asia Institute (EAI) has explored institutionalization measures for the desirable role, authority, and responsibilities of the president in a democracy through projects such as "Conditions for a Successful Presidential Transition" (2007) and "Conditions for a Successful Presidency in 2013" (2012), every five years. On April 20, 2016, the EAI invited Park Jae-wan, Dean of the Graduate School of Public Administration at Sungkyunkwan University and former Minister of Strategy and Finance, to hold the fifth round table for "Conditions for a Successful Presidency in 2018" in the presidential election year of 2017.

Ensuring Consistency and Continuity in State Administration

The core of the 1987 system is the single five-year presidential term. Over the past 30 years, we have experienced six presidents, with two instances of peaceful power transitions. The issue is that the single five-year presidential term system has significant limitations in terms of policy consistency and continuity. It confines the vision of the president and their aides to a five-year horizon. Consequently, policies that are crucial for national interest in the long term are relatively neglected, and the president and aides tend to focus on policies that can yield visible results within their term. It is necessary to revive the Senior Secretary for National Policy Planning and the Presidential Committee for Future Planning within Cheong Wa Dae to handle mid-to-long-term strategies.

Establishing a Desirable Cooperative Relationship with the National Assembly

One of the key conditions for a successful presidency is establishing a desirable cooperative relationship with the National Assembly. The Blue House must recognize the National Assembly as a partner and redouble its efforts to strengthen cooperation. First, the president must demonstrate efforts to break away from being the de facto leader of a specific political party or faction. This image cannot be built by appointing ruling party lawmakers as presidential special advisors. Second, the Blue House's political affairs team must be strengthened. There are many assessments that the political affairs team's role was insufficient during the Park Geun-hye administration; to adapt to the changing political environment emphasizing cooperation after the general elections, the political affairs team needs to be expanded to manage the ruling party, the opposition party, and the second opposition party holding the casting vote, as was done in the past. Although this is a very difficult and time-consuming task, the 'high road' of opening one's mind (虛心) and listening attentively (善聽) is actually the shortcut. Blaming others by saying that state affairs are in disarray because the 'lame-duck assembly' is obstructive is the 'low road.' Third, 'party-government consultations' must be operated through various channels with the ruling party. In addition to existing party-government consultation bodies such as the high-level party-government meeting where the prime minister and party leader meet, and the working-level party-government meeting where ministers and policy committee chairs meet, there is a need to establish party-government consultation bodies between the Blue House political affairs team and the floor leader delegation, and between the Blue House policy team and the policy committee chair delegation. If possible, a working-level 'policy consultation body' should also be established with the opposition party to sufficiently explain government policies and request cooperation.

Advancing the National Assembly and Ensuring Fiscal Soundness

Separate from the president's efforts, there are tasks that the National Assembly, as a key partner and collaborator in state administration, must address. First, the National Assembly must dispel public misconceptions that it obstructs the president through political strife or attempts reckless fiscal expansion. To this end, the National Assembly must demonstrate its willingness to change by expanding irreversible commitment devices. Primarily, the level of institutionalization of the legislative system should be raised to ensure predictable parliamentary activities. This could involve regularizing the weekly schedule, such as public hearings or confirmation hearings (Monday), subcommittees (Tuesday), standing committees (Wednesday), legislation and judiciary committee and special committees (Thursday), and plenary sessions (Friday). It could also involve deciding on agenda items for plenary sessions based on the order of passage in standing committees. Second, mechanisms must be established to self-regulate reckless fiscal expansion. When new mandatory expenditures arise, a pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) principle should be followed, requiring consideration of funding sources to enhance fiscal soundness. Budget review by the National Assembly should also adopt a top-down, lump-sum allocation and autonomous budgeting approach, similar to the government's budget formulation. Once the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts finalizes the macro-budget and sets guidelines, standing committees should review the micro-budgets for each ministry in accordance with these guidelines, which can help mitigate the problem of "insert" budgets. Most importantly, the political sphere, represented by the National Assembly, must devise reforms to ensure that political schedules such as presidential and general elections do not burden national finances. Politicians and parties facing elections are prone to making irresponsible pledges, tempted by populist spending rather than tax increases. This results in deteriorating fiscal soundness. To prevent this vicious cycle, a pledge registration system should be introduced. At least three months before presidential or general elections, each party must register its core pledges, along with the projected costs of implementation and funding plans, with the National Election Commission. The National Election Commission should then verify the projected budget for the pledges and publicize it one month before the election to aid voter understanding. The pledge registration system can be a groundbreaking initiative to eradicate the bad habit of burdening the economy with the implementation of excessive pledges after elections, enhance the accountability of politicians and parties, and restore trust in the political sphere. Key policies pursued by the president and the administration require legislative and budgetary cooperation from the National Assembly. Such key policies and their necessary budgets must be discussed in advance with both the ruling and opposition parties before being announced by the president and the administration. The practice of having the National Assembly, the ruling party, and the government jointly sign off on key laws and budgets executed through this process, and the president then promulgating them, should be established. This process can dispel the misconception that the National Assembly obstructs the president and lend strength to the policies in question.

Transformational Leadership Characterized by Communication and Empathy

The conditions for a successful presidency cannot be discussed without mentioning the personal virtues and leadership of the president. First, the times have changed, and the surrounding environment has become more severe. The economy is stagnant at the 'precipice' of becoming an advanced nation. The global economy, mired in long-term recession, is fatal to the South Korean economy, which has a high degree of external dependence. Changes in demographic structure, such as low birth rates and an aging population, act as headwinds for the South Korean economy. Conflicts between groups are intensifying, and unlike during the development era, the scope for resolution has diminished. This is because the scope for 'Pareto improvement'—where at least one person benefits without anyone losing out—has been exhausted. Immature representative politics is amplifying conflicts. To resolve these numerous challenges, the leadership of the president, capable of triggering innovation, is urgently needed, separate from institutional improvements. Transformational leadership, rather than charismatic leadership, is required in this situation. The essential conditions for this leadership are insight and persuasiveness. Policy marketing skills are more necessary than politically engineered thinking. The advisory system should also be composed of aides with outstanding policy marketing skills rather than those with expertise in political engineering. Another leadership style demanded by this era is democratic leadership, rather than authoritarian or laissez-faire leadership. The essential conditions for this leadership are communication and empathy. Only a leader who listens with an open mind (虛心) and attentive ears (善聽), and is capable of self-reflection (自省), can activate a public sphere where complex conflicts can be resolved. Democratic leadership, based on two-way communication, delegates authority while the leader takes responsibility. The leadership of a transformational, democratic president is also an essential virtue for enhancing the level of institutionalization of South Korean politics, as discussed earlier. ■

Park Jae-wanDean of the Graduate School of Public Administration at Sungkyunkwan University (Chairman of the Foundation for a Prosperous Korea) previously served as a secretary in the Presidential Secretariat, a member of the 17th National Assembly, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs and Senior Secretary for National Policy Planning at Cheong Wa Dae, Minister of Employment and Labor, and Minister of Strategy and Finance.

Moderator

Lee Sook-jong, President of EAI, Professor at Sungkyunkwan University

Discussion

Kang Won-taek, Professor at Seoul National University

Kim Seok-ho, Professor at Seoul National University

Kim Jae-il, Professor at Dankook University

Kim Tae-young, Professor at Kyung Hee University

Na Tae-jun, Professor at Yonsei University

Park Won-ho, Professor at Seoul National University

Park Hyung-joon, Director of EAI Governance Center, Professor at Sungkyunkwan University

Lee Nae-young, Director of EAI Public Opinion Analysis Center, Professor at Korea University

Han Gyu-seop, Professor at Seoul National University

Han Seung-joon, Professor at Seoul Women's University

Han Jeong-hoon, Professor at Seoul National University

Bae Jin-seok, Senior Researcher at EAI

Kim Bo-mi, Junior Researcher at EAI