Left Flank

My father-in-law reacted scornfully to a passage in President Lee Myung-bak's Inaugural Address about obeying the law.

But the fanfare of traditional horns could not drown out the fact that South Korea's bitterly partisan politics have barely paused for breath.

Lee's speech urged an end to "wasteful political disputes" that are alienating voters. But the two months since he won the presidency by a wide margin were shadowed by an investigation of his business ties to an alleged felon. The inquiry ruled last week that there was no evidence to implicate Lee in financial fraud.

He also assumes office amid a political storm over the wealth of his nominees to the 15-member Cabinet.

"Two-faced!" both my father-in-law and wife shouted.

The most quoted passage is "We must move from the age of ideology into the age of pragmatism." Yet, President Lee is a throwback to the previous generation of South Koreans striving for economic development. His model is former dictator Park Chung-hee, and Lee's goals are broadly macroeconomic: average GDP, average income, yearly growth. Another sign of this first-generation approach is Lee's oft-lampooned canal project, linking Seoul with Busan. Lee still talks about "sacrifice". He calls for a leaner government, but not leaner family-owned corporations. He's called the "Bulldozer", but ROK needs a fine-tuner.

The new President played to his business background by campaigning largely on an economic reform platform. Touting the "747 economy" -- shorthand for raising economic growth to 7%, doubling per-capita incomes to $40,000, and lifting Korea's world GDP rankings to 7th, from its current 13th -- Mr. Lee has set the bar high. Over the past five years, Korea's growth averaged around 4.5% annually, lagging its Asian peers. Foreign investors have shied away from burdensome regulations, an inflexible labor market and a perception that foreign capital isn't welcomed.

Mr. Lee says all that will change on his watch. He wants to cut taxes, clinch the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement, and institute a "small and efficient" government. He needs to move quickly. While Mr. Roh presided over an economy buoyed by a flood of Fed-supplied money and a global upturn, Mr. Lee is walking into a much tougher external environment. He seems to understand the urgency. His transition team negotiated the elimination of three government ministries before Mr. Lee even took office.

President Lee will fine tune DPRK policy.

Though Lee has vowed to broadly continue Seoul's policy of detente with the North, he has said he will approach the country with a more critical eye.

His predecessors — Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Dae-jung — were accused of showering unconditional aid and concessions as part of reconciliation efforts while getting little in return.

Lee said he is willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Il whenever necessary.

Fortunately, Lee is discussing strengthening ties with Japan and the US. GI Korea calls it, "business as usual". K-Bloggers are still arguing as if Lee is different, but NK Monitor phrases it best: "I'd say the question is not whether things are changing, but which way they are changing." We might all return to this moment again in five or ten years.

This is my third inauguration in ROK, and I'm less optimistic every time. In 1997, the acute crisis of the 1997 currency debacle opened a space for radical reform that was squandered in consumer gold sacrifices and xenophobia. Bureaucratic directives war against one another every season or so, only to confront a buzz of entrenched opposition. The same hot air is repackaged for a newer goal, like education or public infrastructure. The Dong-A Daily does as best it can to suggest more.

If, in the form of a Korean saying I have heard said, Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun represented two steps back, then at least President Lee is the one step halting the slide.