Kim Jeong-hoon, Former Cabinet Office Candidate, Criticizing Change-Averse Forces of Korea: "마녀사냥에 낙마" 김종훈, WP에 격정 기고

Some of Kim's remarks on chaebols (e.g., chaebols moving its manufacturing offshore) and the state of the Korean economy echo what I have pointed out on this blog.  If he really cares for Korea, the country of his birth, he could have proposed some constructive suggestions as to how Korea can address the underlying structural problems keeping the Korean SMEs from being more globally competitive and an approach he would have taken to contribute to a paradigm shift in the Korean economy by implementing the idea of a "creative economy" in this article published in Washington Post.  That would have been his real contribution and manifestation of his pride in his Korean heritage.

From Washington Post:

I was honored recently to be asked by South Korean President Park Geun-hye to lead a new wing of the government. She confided to me that although I was a U.S. citizen, I had the right experience and the know-how to launch the Ministry of Science, Information, Communication, Technology and Future Planning. We would be charged with bringing about a paradigm shift in Korea’s economy.

For all its achievements as an “Asian tiger,” South Korea faces profound challenges. Lacking natural resources, the country forged an export-led economy based on its hard-working people and their indefatigable industry. But outward appearances mask a nagging weakness. For instance, the top 10 Korean conglomerates account for 80 percent of the country’s gross domestic product but employ less than 6 percent of the workforce. Why? Because they move production overseas to remain price-competitive or to placate trading partners. Unemployment is worryingly high, especially among college graduates. Furthermore, the durability of the South Korean miracle is threatened by rising economic prowess of much bigger neighbors such as India and China.

In response to this challenge, the president has pledged to nurture a “creative economy” that will boost globally competitive small and medium-size businesses by leveraging science and communication technologies in a way that generates good jobs for young people at home — not to replace the export-focused big corporations but to complement them.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jeong-kim-a-return-to-south-korea-thwarted-by-nationalism/2013/03/29/fa674336-97f8-11e2-814b-063623d80a60_story.html

연합뉴스로부터:

이중국적 논란 등으로 전격 사임한 김종훈 전 미래창조과학부 장관 내정자는 31일(현지시간) 미국 유력 일간 워싱턴포스트(WP)에 실린 기고문에서 자신의 낙마에 대해 서운함과 아쉬움을 나타냈다.

김 전 내정자는 '새로운 세상의 오래된 편견'(Old prejudices in new world)이라는 제목의 글에서 사임 과정을 소개한 뒤 "현재 (한국의) 정치적 환경과 기업 환경에서는 `아웃사이더'(outsider)인 내가 장관직을 수행할 수 없다는 게 명백해졌다"며 사임 이유를 설명했다.

그는 또 한국이 `아시아의 호랑이'로 고속성장한 데 대해 자부심을 느낀다면서도 한국의 10대 재벌기업이 국내총생산(GDP)의 80%를 차지하지만 이들의 고용 규모는 전체의 6%에도 못 미치는 등 내부적으로는 문제가 많다고 설명했다.

그러면서 한국은 가격경쟁력 유지 등을 위해 생산시설을 외국으로 옮기고 있고, 대학 졸업자 실업률이 지나치게 높고, 중국과 인도 등 이웃국가들의 부상으로 위협받고 있다고 진단했다.

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/international/2013/04/01/0601080100AKR20130401001300071.HTML?template=5566