S.Korea’s Lee promises growth, firmer line on N.Korea

South Korea’s presidential frontrunner is promising a reinvigorated economy, a firmer stance on North Korea and a stronger alliance with the United States if he wins the December 19 election.

Lee Myung-Bak, in written replies to questions submitted by Agence France-Presse, pledged to create about 600,000 new jobs every year by achieving seven percent economic growth.

The new government, he said, would reform the public sector, stabilise labour-management relations and promote investment through deregulation and tax adjustments.

“Regulations should be removed or eased if they are a stumbling block to business activities,” Lee said, vowing to create “a pro-business and pro-market environment.”

Lee, the candidate of the conservative opposition Grand National Party, is headed for a sweeping victory according to opinion polls published Thursday.

The former construction executive and ex-mayor of Seoul won 44.7 percent support in a survey by JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, almost 30 points ahead of his closest challenger from the liberal pro-government party.

Lee, 65, would be the country’s first president with a business background at a time when the state of the economy is the key preoccupation.

Annual growth over the past decade averages 4.4 percent compared to an average eight percent in the years before the 1997 financial crisis. Youth unemployment is around seven percent.

Conservatives have been out of office for the past decade, during which time Seoul has pursued a “sunshine” engagement policy with North Korea.

Seoul, Thursday, AFP