Ordinarily, his opponents might have been able to exploit Mr Lee's stilted manner. Instead it has become an advantage. Koreans care mainly about the economy. They want a competent manager and Mr Lee seems to fit the bill. As a child, he helped his mother sell popsicles and seaweed rolls. He put himself through university by working as a rubbish collector. He rose through the ranks of Hyundai to become chief executive of ten different affiliates. Lingering suspicion that his business dealings may not have been pristine has been overlooked. Red High Heels
South Korea is going through a period of relative economic malaise and voters want faster growth than the 5% achieved last year under President Roh, the best showing of his presidency.
Rising property prices have pushed workers in Seoul, home to half the population, far away from the capital, causing endless
commutes to 12-hour-a-day jobs. Parents who pay for private classes so their children can keep up in pressure-cooker schools want changes to the education system. Many Koreans demand a comprehensive
social-security system, as befits the world's 13th Burberry Outlet UK
largest economy. The next president will also have to ensure it is not business as usual between his office, the Blue House, and the country's conglomerates.
The biggest, Samsung, stands accused by a former executive of widespread bribery, including of politicians.
Mr Lee is responding to these varied demands with a comprehensive—even grandiose—list of promises. He says he can get growth up to 7% a year, bring average incomes up to $40,000 a year and make South Korea the world's seventh-largest economy by 2017. All this is to be achieved by cutting taxes, trimming public spending by 10%, easing the burden of regulation, improving the efficiency of medical spending and building a giant canal system through the middle of the country to create jobs and cut pollution. He is not promising to makeOakley Sunglasses Sale
pigs fly.
If he wins, Mr Lee will face divisions in both country and party. Since the end of the Korean War, South Korea has been split along regional lines. The eastern part, Gyeongsang, has traditionally produced the country's leaders (Mr Lee grew up there, though he was born in Japan). They have tended to favour their hometowns at the expense of the south-west Jeolla region.
The Grand National Party is also beset by internal rifts, Air Max Shoes
notably between Mr Lee and Park Geun-hye, the daughter of a former military dictator, Park Chung-hee. Ms Park wants to run for president in five years' time. She also wants a hand in picking the party's candidates for parliamentary elections due in April
2008. If they cannot work together, Mr Lee's proposals may face an icy reception in parliament.
Mr Lee has few specific ideas about getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, beyond making aid and investment conditional on disarmament. “North Korea must take steps to demonstrate it wants peace before there is widespread economic assistance or investment by South Korea,” says one of his closest foreign-policy advisers. In Mr Lee's view, the last two presidents have weakened South Korea's military alliance with America, and he promises to reinvigorate it. He also plans a range of co-operative economic agreements Burberry Outlet UK
with Asian neighbours—and with Russia, in the hope of securing long-term oil and gas contracts in eastern Siberia. In short, all things to all countries.
Many South Koreans have been disappointed by the decade-long rule of liberal presidents who promised much but failed to deliver either strong growth or uncorrupt leadership. They were also put off by President Roh's inability to create more jobs and reduce social inequality. In contrast Mr Lee's record as mayor of Seoul suggests he can get things done. But if he does win, he will do so partly because he has raised expectations—and will suffer all the more if he cannot live up to them.
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