President-elect LMB Press Briefing this morning(Q&A)

Q. Many people think, now that conservative Lee is elected there will be huge changes in North Korean policy. You said before that you would open a new inter-Korean cooperative era, and could you tell me what North Korean policy will you pursue and if your government still aid North Korea even before the complete destroy of NK nuclear programs?

A. I will pursue a practical diplomacy, transcending both progressiveness and conservativeness. The same can be said to the inter-Korean cooperation matters. The most important issue in the inter-Korean relations right now is to discard North Korea’s nuclear programs. I think inter-Korean economic exchange can really start in earnest by removing NK nuclear, so I will try to persuade the North to believe getting rid of nuclear will help sustain its regime and be more helpful for their citizens. I know persuasion is not an easy task. But we need to persuade in strong and reliable manner, and for that matter, I think we should actively cooperate with the international society through the six party talks. And the government should help, among other things, the NK-US talks go smoothly.

Q. Could you tell us about specifically how you are going to save the economy?

A. It is true that people have various and complex requests for me. But I know for sure after primary and final elections that majority of people want, more than other things, the economic revival. I think reviving the economy means increased investment by companies. I am positive about how to encourage companies to invest. Of course, there will be many ways to do that, certainly deregulation will be the one. But who would become president, in itself, makes the investment atmosphere to be wholly different. For the last 10 years, business has been reluctant to invest due to anti-market and anti-business environment, even when regulations, in fact, have not actually increased. I believe, with Lee Myung-bak becoming president, the economic environment will totally change.

When the transition committee is up and running, we will meet, first of all, mid-size firms and various business people face to face to explain them how we are going to change investment plans and environment. So even before the new government takes office, we will spur companies to plan for a new investment. And to boost foreign investment, we are going to found a special department within the transition committee. I will start contacting foreign investors, explaining them Korea is an investor-friendly country.