[Interview] Yoo Seung-min "South Korea Has Not Used Up Its Luck... Yoon and Lee Must Accept Constitutional Court's Decision"

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난적 (難敵), meaning a formidable adversary, aptly describes former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min of the People Power Party in the opposition. In an era of political polarization, catering to the tastes of hardline supporters is often seen as the formula for winning party primaries. However, the general election tells a different story. The swing voters in the center ultimately decide the outcome. Politician Yoo Seung-min is the ruling party’s presidential candidate card capable of appealing to the centrist electorate, the decisive battleground in the general election.

Political attention is focused on the Constitutional Court’s impeachment trial result for President Yoon Seok-yeol. Former lawmaker Yoo emphasized, “President Yoon and Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party should say they will accept whatever decision comes out.”

Despite being an unemployed individual (?) who faces the president’s disfavor, Yoo is an economist proposing bold growth strategies related to cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), and unusually, he was invited by the Navy to the launching ceremony of the next-generation Aegis destroyer. In an interview with Asia Economy on the 10th, Yoo presented a blueprint to save South Korea, which is facing a crisis of division due to structural low growth and martial law.

Below is the Q&A.

Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min is being interviewed at the Asia Economy headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 10th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

-You expressed a 'welcome' stance after the decision to cancel President Yoon Seok-yeol’s detention. Haven’t you previously expressed support for impeachment?

▲One thing I have emphasized over the past three months is that President Yoon clearly violated the constitution and was at fault. That has not changed. However, I believed that no one should give a pretext to those who committed mistakes in all the procedures of arresting and detaining a sitting president, investigating him for treason, and conducting the impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court. If procedural legitimacy is not maintained, trouble will arise. That trouble is division and conflict. Our people are divided between pro- and anti-impeachment camps, so it has become important what role politicians and judicial institutions play. Initially, investigative agencies competed, and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), which lacks investigative authority, led the investigation, giving the president’s defense team a pretext to resist. The Constitutional Court also announced on the 3rd of last month that Justice Ma Eun-hyuk would issue a ruling but postponed it. If such scenes continue, conflicts and divisions will inevitably intensify. However, the court raised questions about the CIO’s investigative authority. Everyone must be able to read and accept the Constitutional Court’s decision on the impeachment trial. Only if procedural legitimacy is upheld and fairness is perceived can acceptance follow. If there are flaws in the process of impeaching and trying a country’s president, it will remain a lingering source of conflict.

-You have serious concerns about the economic reality.

▲Our economy did not reach this state overnight. Until the 1990s, we experienced rapid growth, but the growth rate has continuously declined over the past 35 years. No administration has properly stopped this decline. Every five years when administrations changed, the growth rate dropped by one percentage point. We used to be considered first-class, but companies have gradually eaten away at their past competitiveness like taking food out of a refrigerator. When a country’s representative companies weaken, new competitive strengths should emerge, but have we seen that? The list of the top 10 companies 20 or 30 years ago and today has hardly changed.

-How about other countries?

▲What were Meta (Facebook) and Alphabet (Google) like 10 years ago in the U.S.? What about GM and GE? The U.S. economy is that dynamic. China resembles the U.S. in this regard. Although the U.S. is a free market and China is socialist, the two countries are surprisingly similar. The U.S. has conducted state-led research and development (R&D) by commercializing foundational technologies developed through national investments such as NASA and DARPA, allowing private companies to profit. China is following this model. Moreover, both countries have the best talent pools in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). This is possible because of political leadership. Whether in the U.S. or China, they nurture talent and enable them to start startups, creating world-class companies. Our large corporations have become bureaucratic organizations.

-You have consistently emphasized growth. What is needed?

▲If our potential growth rate is 4%, we can completely change. If the economy grows, hope for the future arises, leading to marriage and childbirth. Growth also increases tax revenue, which can alleviate inequality. In the past, we emphasized distribution over growth, but perceptions have changed. Our politics have only used short-term stimulus measures whenever the economy was bad during five-year single-term governments. Fundamental industrial competitiveness or scientific and technological competitiveness was neglected or even reversed. As a result, our smartest 3,000 students have gone to medical schools nationwide. President Yoon’s medical reform ultimately meant increasing the number of medical students from 3,000 to 5,000 by adding 2,000 more. We must break the incentive structure where the smartest science students go to medical school and liberal arts students aspire to be judges or prosecutors. The most fundamental reform is nurturing talent. Labor and education must change for this. Without this, we will go beyond zero growth into negative growth.

-Why do you think such reforms have not been achieved?

▲The problem is the level of politics. Even now, fearing elections, both ruling and opposition parties compete to cut taxes despite an 87 trillion won tax revenue shortfall. Nobel laureate economist Daron Acemoglu and others concluded that institutions are ultimately important, and politics creates those institutions. In a 2016 lecture at Seoul National University, I used the term “innovative growth,” which former President Moon Jae-in adopted. I hoped it would be done well, but they ended up pursuing income-led growth. President Yoon’s pledge to train one million digital innovation talents is good, and I told him to “go ahead and use it,” but I can’t recall any achievements besides increasing semiconductor department quotas. Appealing to engineering students’ patriotism has limits. Ultimately, the incentive structure is the problem. The state must unconditionally protect and reward those who start startups in advanced science and give them another chance if they fail, while lowering the incentives enjoyed by doctors or judges and prosecutors. Politicians who have contemplated growth through such innovation must be empowered to push it strongly.

-Division in our society has deepened since martial law.

▲We have some understanding of the truth of December 3 last year. We expected to learn lessons and advance rather than regress into division and conflict, but instead, division has deepened. I believe lawmakers who hold a microphone and call for destroying the Constitutional Court are unqualified. Where are the people who destroyed the Western District Court after listening to political incitement? Have politicians taken responsibility for them? Neither the People Power Party nor the Democratic Party is trying to resolve the division now.

Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min is being interviewed at the Asia Economy headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 10th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

-It seems to be an era of politics where negotiation is difficult. You pushed through public servant pension reform but faced criticism from former President Park Geun-hye and fell into trouble.

▲Public servant pension reform was exactly 10 years ago. Former President Park really wanted reform. I became floor leader to realize the president’s wish. The key was persuading the opposition at the time. I thought it was better to do 80 or 70 points of what the president wanted rather than nothing. The opposition made unreasonable demands but eventually proposed a parliamentary law allowing revision of enforcement ordinances that did not fit the law’s purpose. This was an issue where positions changed with each party change, but we agreed to accept it and notified the presidential office, which showed little reaction. This can be confirmed with those involved at the time. Later, during a party meeting, I was contacted and told that if negotiations failed again, reform would be impossible, so I took responsibility and agreed. The president was furious and after holding out for 13 days, I resigned as floor leader. If I had communicated directly with former President Park, there would have been no misunderstanding. There was an intermediary who conveyed messages, and misunderstandings accumulated. Time has passed, and now both former President Park and I are older. I want to clear up the misunderstanding.

-There are many voices worried about the future of conservatism.

▲During the Moon Jae-in administration’s purge of deep-rooted evils, I thought conservatives were uniting to prevent Lee Jae-myung from becoming the Democratic Party leader. However, those opposing impeachment are not necessarily right, and those supporting it should not be purged. Some conservatives support impeachment, and more centrists do. If such differences lead to fighting like enemies, we will simply hand over power to the Democratic Party in an early election. Lee claims to be centrist conservative and is shifting right, but can he win with hardline conservatism? Our party must show hope that it can change. Ultimately, there is no choice but to appear as a candidate.

-The impeachment trial result seems to be announced soon. What would you like to say to the people?

▲I do not think South Korea’s luck is over. Politics should give hope that reform can make us stand tall again, not baselessly inflated hope. As a politician, I want to offer such hope. There are reasonable, common-sense, and sound majority citizens who did not attend pro- or anti-impeachment rallies. If these people raise their voices, it would be great if, literally, the 'power of the people' could unite.