Lee administration hides behind public deliberation

Koh Hyun-kohn

The author is the chief editorial writer at the JoongAng Ilbo. 

Governments often turn to “public deliberation” before making policy decisions to hear public opinion and build social consensus. Progressive administrations particularly favor it. Deliberative democracy is unobjectionable. The problem is that consensus is difficult to achieve. Poorly managed deliberation can instead intensify conflict while wasting time and money.

Governments know this. Yet public deliberation offers an easy way to postpone difficult decisions and, if things go wrong, shift responsibility to the individuals and groups that participated. Despite good intentions, it can become an exercise in delay and evasion.

In 2003, early in the Roh Moo-hyun administration, residents and environmental groups erupted in protest after Buan County, North Jeolla, applied to host a radioactive waste disposal facility. Violence followed. The government tried to resolve the dispute through public deliberation, but the confrontation dragged on for more than a year. What was needed was decisive government intervention and clear guidelines.

Pension reform offers another example. Facing the depletion of the National Pension fund, the Health Ministry in 2018 proposed raising premiums and delaying benefit payments. President Moon Jae-in rejected the plan as falling short of public expectations, leading to further deliberation. The government stepped back while labor, business and experts argued throughout his term without reaching agreement. Delay merely increased the burden on future generations. The Roh administration tried sincerely but failed. The Moon administration handed off responsibility and let governance drift.

The Lee Jae Myung administration also values public deliberation, but seems selective about when to use it. Earlier this year, Lee wrote on X that candid debate and public deliberation were essential for difficult issues involving tangled interests. He attended a real estate tax debate and ordered discussion on lowering the age of criminal responsibility for juveniles and extending national health insurance coverage to hair-loss treatment. Yet he proposed no such process for criminal justice reforms or the "Yellow Envelope" act.

More recently, issues that require decisions rather than more debate have again been sent to deliberation. Two disputes surrounding the Honam semiconductor cluster illustrate the problem.

One involves nuclear power. The government launched a three-month public deliberation on nuclear energy’s role, despite previously saying it would secure electricity even by shortening reactor construction periods. It has not clearly defined what will be discussed or how the results will shape policy.

Power supplies for the government’s three mega-projects are now in limbo. A draft of the 12th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand, including nuclear construction, was due this month but has been postponed until year-end. Climate, Energy and Environment Minister Kim Sung-hwan said hearing public opinion fully was more important than meeting the promised timetable.

That is puzzling. Kim has shifted his position on nuclear construction throughout the year, even while acknowledging that repeated surveys show 70 to 80 percent support for new reactors. Why seek another round of opinion gathering when he already knows where public sentiment stands?

The other issue is easing labor regulations in semiconductor mega-special zones by exempting highly paid professionals and research and development personnel from the 52-hour workweek. After prolonged debate, the issue was handed to social dialogue between labor and management, where agreement is even harder to reach.

The country’s two major union federations have rarely compromised in such negotiations. Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon makes agreement still less likely. He has opposed exceptions to the 52-hour rule and has argued that excess semiconductor profits should be returned to society, reflecting what I regard as an anti-capitalist outlook.

Little can be expected from ministers Kim Sung-hwan and Kim Young-hoon, who appear trapped in ideology and factional logic. They do not fit the pragmatic government Lee says he seeks. If Lee wants a Cabinet reshuffle to renew his administration, these two ministers should be the first replaced.

It is now Lee’s turn to act. He has said the three mega-projects require not merely a “speed battle” but a “lightning battle.” He cannot then remain behind the scenes. The longer he waits, the more momentum and trust will erode.

The time for resolving nuclear power and the 52-hour workweek through deliberation and social dialogue has long passed. Why rush through the abolition of the prosecution system while dragging out these two issues? The president should decide and settle them quickly. Exercising authority while personally accepting responsibility is, after all, the president’s job.