Towards Age of Peace and Prosperity Roh Moo-hyun President of the Republic of Korea President Roh Moo-hyun is interviewed by CNN in New York. (September 15, 2005) Towards Age of Peace and Prosperity Roh Moo-hyun President of the Republic of Korea CONTENTS 03 Personal History 04 Dynamic Korea: A Nation on the Move 12 Participatory Government 18 A Biographical Sketch 28 Remarks by President Roh Moo-hyun At a Cheong Wa Dae press conference, President Roh clarifies the Government’s position on North Korea’s nuclear test while explaining the outcome of the Korea-Japan summit meeting. (October 9, 2006) Personal History DATE OF BIRTH CAREER August 6, 1946 2003. 2 1991 PLACE OF BIRTH Sworn in as President of the Republic of Spokesman for the United Democratic Gimhae, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea Korea Party FAMILY 2002.12 1988 Married to Kwon Yang-suk with Elected as the 16th President of the Member, National Assembly Special one son and one daughter Republic of Korea Committee to Investigate Political Corruption during the Fifth Republic 2001 Advisor and Senior Member, 1988 EDUCATION Central Committee of the Millennium Elected to the 13th National Assembly in 1966 Democratic Party Busan’s Eastern District Graduated from Busan Commercial High School 2000. 8 ~ 2001. 3 1987 Minister of Maritime Affairs and Chairman and Director, Busan Fisheries Headquarters of the Citizens Movement for a Democratic Constitution (also PUBLICATIONS 1998 served as one of the leaders of the June 2002 Elected to the 15th National Assembly in Democratization Struggles of 1987) Thoughts on Leadership a by-election in Seoul’s Jongno District 1981 2001 1997 Began career as a human rights lawyer Roh Moo-hyun Meets Lincoln Vice President of the National Congress after defending a student activist for New Politics involved in the Burim Incident in Busan 1994 Honey, Please Help Me! 1996 1978 Member, Executive Committe of Civic Attorney Congress for the Promotion of National Unity 1977 Judge, Daejeon District Court 1993 Director, Research Center for Local 1975 Autonomy Passed the 17th National Bar Examination 1993 Senior Member, Central Committee of the United Democratic Party 10th Korea-ASEAN Summit President Roh Moo-hyun poses with other national leaders participating in the 10th Korea-ASEAN Summit in Cebu, the Philippines. (January 14, 2007) Dynamic Korea: A Nation on the Move President Roh Moo-hyun speaks about national affairs during an interview on Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation’s “100-Minute Discussion”. (September 28, 2006) Dynamic Korea: A Nation on the Move Keynote Speech by President Roh Moo-hyun at the International Conference on “A New Vision and Strategy under Changing leadership in Northeast Asia” The Honorable Managing Director Horst Kohler of the The Participatory Government made its start, burdened International Monetary Fund, former Australian Prime with the problem of household debt amounting to 440 tril- Minister Bob Hawke, Secretary-General Donald Johnston lion won and about 2.6 million credit delinquents. of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Instability in the financial market had deepened, and busi- Development, Professor Lawrence Klein, other partici- ness was on a downturn. As a consequence, consumption pants, and distinguished guests from home and abroad, and investment froze. To make matters worse, the North Korean nuclear problem added to the economic woes. It is very meaningful for you to be holding this interna- tional conference on the vision and strategy of the The first imperative was to help stabilize financial mar- Participatory Government. I wholeheartedly welcome the ket with minimum government intervention. Economic leaders of international organizations and world-renowned problems were handled with firm determination not con- scholars and experts who have come here from many countries. sidering popularity or giving in to public pressure to em- ploy unreasonable pump-priming measures that would in- The world has been changing rapidly. One year today vite a burden later on. goes as fast as ten or even 100 years of the past. We cannot but lag behind unless we undergo ceaseless change and in- Of course, we did not sit idly by. Active measures have novation. Now is the time when “change” spells “hope.” been taken to deal with credit delinquents, solve the painful issue of unemployment among young people and Korea has also witnessed considerable changes and suf- address stagnant investments. Our best efforts have been fered pain in the past year. In parallel with the efforts to over- made, in the meantime, to help find a peaceful solution to come the current difficulties, Korea has been making all-out the North Korean nuclear issue. endeavors for national innovation to prepare for the future. 6 Towards Age of Peace and Prosperity Now, most problems have either been overcome or technology and strengthen competitiveness through tech- are moving toward solutions. Still, some problems remain, nological innovation and the nurturing of capable workers. but solutions are taking shape, and hope is in sight. We will strengthen the legal and institutional supports I am confident that the economy will be revitalized in to help Korea take a leap toward becoming the R& D hub the not distant future if we continue to bolster fundamentals of Northeast Asia by attracting leading foreign think tanks. while tackling current problems with caution; in that way, the economy will be able to leap ahead with renewed vigor. We will actively nurture talented persons primarily in the fields of the next-generation growth industries already Distinguished guests from home and abroad, determined and will expand R&D investments. The great feat achieved recently by our bioengineering research The Participatory Government was born with sponta- team attests to the possibility of technological break- neous participation of the people and a fervent desire for throughs in the next-generation growth fields. change. I believe that the call of the time entrusted to the Participatory Government is to build a “Dynamic Korea: A Second, the Government will steadily press Nation on the Move.” ahead with market reform. To this end over the past year, the Government formu- Late last year, the Government adopted the class-action lated and has been consistently implementing seven system in the securities industry that had been stalled for major strategic initiatives and 250 roadmaps step by step. two years and revised the law designed to ensure ad- vanced accounting standards. The previous Administration worked out numerous legislative initiatives and systems in The first strategy is innovation support of market reforms. in science and technology. What remains to be done is to bridge the gap between We will revitalize the national system of science and such systems and reality. Efforts will be consistently exert- President Roh and U.S. President George W. Bush hold a summit at the White House. (September 15, 2006) 7 Dynamic Korea: A Nation on the Move President Roh and Chinese President Hu Jintao meet for a summit at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (October 13, 2006) ed to enhance management transparency in accordance people did not quite believe what I said. with “a three-year market reform plan,” which was final- ized late last year, and to establish corporate governance However, it is noteworthy that during the past year, il- matching international standards. legal labor disputes decreased by 60 percent compared with the previous year, and work-day losses were reduced The privatization of banks will be concluded soon, and by 20 percent. Not long ago, labor, management and the the restructuring of the non-banking financial sector, Government concluded a “Social Contract for Creating which has so far been incomplete, will be pushed actively. Jobs” under the contract, labor will cooperate in stabilizing The legal frameworks governing the financial sector will wages in particular, and management will cooperate in be shaped in several functional categories to help enhance stabilizing the employment. In the days ahead, the con- regulatory consistency and transparency. tract will be further enhanced and developed as it be- comes more and more concrete. We will take sweeping steps to do away with unneces- sary regulations that restrict corporate investments while Once again, I pledge that from this year, the number of the transparency of all regulations will be improved and illegal disputes will be cut by half every year. The stan- will be made cost-effective. dards used in determining the legality of labor strikes will be updated to fit international standards. Third, the Government will strive continuously for advanced labor-management relations. Fourth, the Government will push forward with proactive, open-door policies. At an international conference marking the 100th day of the Participatory Government last June, I promised that I Over the past half a century, Korea has been accom- would try to put an advanced labor-management relation- modating international business and has grown into a na- ship in place within one or two years. At that time, many tion respecting free international trade. 8 Towards Age of Peace and Prosperity President Roh and Japanese Prime Minister Abe exchange greetings before a summit at Cheong Wa Dae. (October 9, 2006) At the same time, interest groups have raised objec- The business environment in the three major Free tions tomarket opening, and at times this has given the Economic Zones of Busan, Gwangyang and Incheon will wrong impression