[The Editors' Verdict] Choo Kyungho's Economic Team, Go Forth Like the Horn of a Rhinoceros

Although the countdown to the launch of the new government has begun, the majority of the public says they do not feel the atmosphere. This is understandable. Usually, hope and expectations rise ahead of a new government’s inauguration, but the domestic and international economic conditions we face now are far from easy. With landmines scattered everywhere?such as U.S.-led monetary tightening, the Russia-Ukraine war, China’s lockdowns, and global supply chain issues?talking about hope itself is ironic. It is disheartening to think that our economy, which barely endured the COVID-19 crisis, is still trapped in a dark tunnel. I am curious how the first-term economic team of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration will break through this tunnel.

The solution is surprisingly simple. It just requires the firm exercise of the “expertise” and “political acumen” that President-elect Yoon emphasized as the reasons for his cabinet appointments during the announcement briefing. Didn’t President-elect Yoon also promise to introduce a decentralized ministerial responsibility system that shares authority and responsibility with each minister? However, the problem is that this simple solution is not as easy as it sounds. Just look at Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki, who holds the record as the longest-serving Deputy Prime Minister for economic affairs. Hong resisted political demands to “print money” by saying, “Fiscal policy is not a bottomless well,” but whenever the Blue House intervened, he repeatedly surrendered. As a result, some criticized him as merely an avatar (proxy) who faithfully followed the Blue House’s direction. This is something the Yoon administration’s economic team must never repeat.

However, looking at the lineup of the first-term cabinet of the Yoon administration, there are concerns that the economic team might become another avatar. If the cabinet is formed as planned, the structure will place Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, a former Deputy Prime Minister for economic affairs, and Kim Dae-gi, Chief Secretary of the Presidential Office and a senior Ministry of Economy and Finance bureaucrat, above Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Finance candidate Choo Kyung-ho, who is the leader of the economic team. This means having to serve multiple “mothers-in-law.” Based on the experience of the Moon Jae-in administration, it is difficult to navigate an economic crisis under a power structure where the economic team is dominated from above. As President-elect Yoon pledged, the Blue House should limit itself to coordinating and supplementing policies and boldly delegate economic policy authority to the Deputy Prime Minister, the top official, creating an environment where they can work with conviction.

Candidate Choo must also demonstrate stronger leadership than ever. Being the head of the economic team does not automatically raise one’s status. Along with bold drive, there must be the courage to firmly say “No” to the president or ruling party when necessary. This is especially true if he does not want to look back later like Deputy Prime Minister Hong and say, “I did oppose it.” High-level political sensitivity is also an essential requirement. Former Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun, who acted as an economic firefighter after the global financial crisis, exemplified this. In his first year in office, he revised growth forecasts and job numbers downward and boldly pushed for early supplementary budgets and job-sharing policies. During this process, he repeatedly visited lawmakers to persuade them and appealed to economic actors for cooperation. This kind of leadership is exactly what candidate Choo needs, as he must balance the two opposing pillars of price stability and growth.

“Like flowing water before a trend, like an unshakable rock before principles...” I want to pass on Thomas Jefferson’s advice, which former Minister Yoon quoted in his farewell speech, to candidate Choo. Although the domestic and international environment surrounding the first-term economic team of the Yoon administration at the starting line is turbulent, I hope they will be recognized as a successful economic team.