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From gentle boy to fighter

Posted January. 15, 2016 07:56,   

Updated January. 19, 2016 13:59

한국어

Jang Gi-yeong, who served as South Korea`s second deputy prime minister and finance minister for three years and five months from 1964, had many nicknames such as a bulldozer with a computer, chief, boss, tank and a man working without sleeping or resting. Although he was sometimes criticized for being self-righteous, his initiatives and sophisticated leadership were the major driving forces behind the success of major policies such as interest-rate realization, economic independence and acquisition of loans from Germany.

He convened a meeting of major economy-related ministers and heads of financial institutions at a conference room next to his office without a previous notice after office hours. While they could avoid the meeting under the excuse of their business, they had no choice but to "surrender" to him when they got exhausted after such a meeting lasted for hours. When Jang had policy or budget consultations with lawmakers, he left his office, saying he had an urgent matter to deal with. Returning very late at night, he successfully persuaded tired lawmakers to accept his agendas. It was his high tactics to have dinner and take a rest in advance in order to draw a conclusion as he intended.

Yoo Il-ho, the new deputy prime minister and finance minister, is nicknamed "gentle boy" because of his easy personality. A former researcher at a state-run research institution with a doctoral degree in economics, he made his political debut in 2008 but far away from being a "fighter." When some 1,000 scholars in economics, business management and public administration announced a public statement criticizing then President Roh Moo-hyun`s anti-market and populist policies in 2004, he was the only person who took a lukewarm attitude.

Apparently aware of such criticism, he said in his inaugural speech on Wednesday that he was "willing to have a hand-to-hand fight for successful reforms." Unlike in the past, he cited words such as "jingbi (reflecting on past mistakes and stopping it from occurring again)" and "struggle" from a 15th century war memoir written by Ryu Seong-ryong, the Joseon Dynasty`s commander-in-chief during the Imjin War started by Japan`s invasion of Joseon. Although the Bank of Korea lowered its outlook for Korea`s economic growth to 3.0 percent on Thursday, economy-related ministries` New Year reporting to the president lacked an urgent sense of crisis or any noteworthy measures. Can Yoo really become a fighter? We will watch if Yoo can revive the stuttering growth engine by standing face-to-face with various evil practices that hamper the country`s yet another economic take-off.



shkwon@donga.com