President Park Geun-hye disclosed her intention to solve a labor issue over temporary workers and the relaxation of regulations in the Seoul metropolitan area, a long-standing issue the business community has demanded in order to reinvigorate the national economy.

“The labor issue over more than 6 million temps should be solved without fail,” said President Park on Jan. 12 at a meeting of reporters upon embarking on her third year in office at Cheong Wa Dae. “In order to solve the tem labor issue, irrational wage discrepancy between regular and temp workers will have to be discontinued, temps should be protected from social safety net, and if the job (temps’ job) is regular and consistent, their employment needs to be stabilized.” 

Earlier, the government announced a package of measures to cope with the temporary labor issue, calling for a reduction in wage gaps between regular and temporary employees and converting temps to full-time workers. But labor and management alike were against the government steps. Labor said the measures would increase the number of part-time workers. 

Asked about the relaxation of regulations in the Seoul metropolitan area, the president said, the issue that cannot be chipped away at little is the one that is essentially put on the regulation guillotine, which is “to be dramatically done.” 

“Rational plans will be formulated after gathering opinions in the perspective of comprehensive national land development. I strive to find solutions this year,” she said. 

“This year, the third year in office, which has no election, is a good opportunity to concentrate on turning around the national economy. (The government) will devote itself to reinvigorating the national economy by accelerating structural reform in top four areas — public sector, labor, finance and education,” she added. 

President Park made it clear she is opposed to discussions of revising the Constitution to change the Chief Executive’s term. She said the issue of amending the Constitution was not an acute one that does not cause any inconveniences to the people. 

Concerning a document leak of the presidential office, she revealed a plan to overhaul the presidential office to prevent such an incident from happening. She turned down the opposition party’s call to fire her key aides, including Cheong Wa Dae Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon, which have been exposed to public criticism over allegations over the scandal. She refuted the allegations that her aides tried to meddle in state affairs. The issue concerning Kim’s job will be decided after all pending issues are solved, she said. 

President Park’s New Year’s Message to the Nation

“This historic year marks the 70th anniversary of liberation and, at the same time, of the division of the country. Over the past 70 years, all Koreans came together to achieve the Miracle on the Han River with an indomitable determination and have also defended and developed liberal democracy,”President Park said in her New Year's message.

“Now, we are standing at a starting point for another 70 years of the Republic of Korea. We are tasked with a historic duty to leave a proud Republic to our posterity just as the generations before us did,” the President said. 

“To fulfill such a responsibility, first and foremost, it is imperative to reinvigorate our economy,” she said. “The government will strive to further fan the flame of economic recovery, which we worked very hard to ignite together with the people last year. The Government will also endeavor to change the fundamentals of the economy so that it will be centered on creativity and innovation, reinforcing the foundation for ushering in an era of US$40,000 in per capita income,” Park said.  

“To build a society characterized by integrity, safety and trust, the government will remain committed to rooting out long-accumulated ills. On the strength of solid security readiness, it will work to put an end to the 70-year-long division, which has caused severance and conflicts, and induce North Korea to take a path of trust and change. In the process, the government will lay a substantive, concrete foundation on which to achieve unification.”