Go to contents

Korean economy rattled by N.K. nuclear test and China shock

Korean economy rattled by N.K. nuclear test and China shock

Posted January. 08, 2016 10:43,   

한국어

North Korea`s nuclear experiment and the instability in China`s financial markets have sent shockwaves to South Korea as well as the rest of the world. The North`s provocation and an economic crisis are dangerous because they strike us all of a sudden. Therefore, it is very important to make pre-emptive preparations. However, politicians are behaving like disruptors rather than helpers. Is it the National Assembly`s job just to summon government officials to blame them after the situation gets out of hand?

The North`s fourth nuclear provocation has brought the nation`s attention to the anti-terrorism and the North Korea human rights bills anew. Of course, the two bills are not directly linked to the North`s nuclear development. However, the anti-terrorism bill calls for more effectively coping with national security threats by concentrating anti-terrorism tasks dispersed among various state organizations on one center. The North Korea human rights bill is aimed at inducing the North`s change by recording the North Korean ruling group`s atrocities and improving the human rights situation in the communist state. A nuclear-armed Kim Jong Un group is more dangerous to South Korea than terrorist organizations. The two bills are intended to change the North and pre-emptively cope with unpredictable security threats. Five labor reform bills and those for reinvigorating the economy are imperative in preventing our economy from facing a crisis rather than simply reviving the slumping economy.

Nevertheless, the National Assembly has failed to make any progress in handling those bills until just one day before the December 2015 extraordinary session closes. Moreover, the parliament also failed to fulfill its legal duty of redrawing electoral constituencies, becoming the accused in an administrative lawsuit for the first time in 51 years.

The main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea criticized the administration on Thursday for its "security incompetence" of failing to gather intelligence on the North`s fourth nuclear test. Judging from what it did when it was in power in the past, they do not even have the qualification for such criticisms. The Roh Moo-hyun administration defended the North`s nuclear development as not being targeted at South Korea and dismissed Pyongyang`s long-range missile test as a "satellite launch." It was them who provided cash for the North`s nuclear and missile development. There seems to be no change in the opposition party`s attitude toward the anti-terrorism and North Korea human rights bills. It even sees the economy with a jaundiced eye. If it fails to win public trust in national security and economy, it should not dream about taking power.