Stones in Shoes: The Regulatory Reform Rhetoric of Korean Presidents

‘Telephone pole → thorns under fingernails/stones in shoes → red flags → stones in shoes/sandbags’ This is a regulatory reform slogan symbolically raised by each government from the past Lee Myung-bak administration to the current Yoon Seok-yeol administration. At the 7th Economic Regulatory Innovation Task Force (TF) meeting held at the Seoul Government Complex on the 7th, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance selected the title “Release 15 regulations of ‘stones in shoes’ that block business activities” and issued notification materials. In other words, ‘stones in shoes’ has been set as the government’s regulatory reform rhetoric. Most of the slogans for proclaiming regulatory reform in the previous administrations were proclaimed during the days when they were elected. On March 21 last year, President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol met with the heads of the 6th economy group and said, “(Companies) challenging overseas is no different from a national athlete participating in the Olympics. You have to wear good sportswear and shoes, but (so far) I was told to wear a sandbag and get a medal.” On the same day, he also said on his Facebook page, “I will try to take out unnecessary regulations like stones in shoes so that companies can run with all their might for growth and job creation.” Unfortunately, the expression ‘stones in shoes’ used by President-elect Yun was already a metaphor used by former President Park Geun-hye during her election days. On January 7, 2013, when former President-elect Park was elected, at a general meeting of the Presidential Transition Committee, she said, “To save small and medium-sized businesses, it is more important to remove the thorn from the tip of a nail than grandiose policies.” Subsequently, in the business report of the Transition Committee’s Economy Division 1, which was held on January 25th, he also mentioned “small invisible thorns under the nails” and said, “Even if you go a long way to see a good view, it will be difficult if there are stones in your shoes, so there is no way you can hear anything else.” said. Former President Park went so far as to put the bold deregulation rhetoric as her political brand. On March 10, 2014, at a meeting of senior secretaries at the Blue House, he surprised the world by mobilizing stimulating words, saying, “Useless regulations are enemies we will defeat and cancerous masses that we must get rid of.” Guillotine)”, the ruling Saenuri Party immediately formed a “special committee for pulling thorns under the fingernails.” What’s interesting is that while former President Park mentioned “a small invisible thorn under the nail,” former President Lee Myung-bak preached a huge ‘telephone pole regulation’ that would immediately catch anyone’s eye. “I went to the Daebul Industrial Complex in Mokpo during the election, but a large truck takes a curve on the bridge next to the industrial complex, but it is not going well because the telephone pole is standing.” It was pulled out the next day. If former President Lee put up big regulations like telephone poles, then former President Park preached an uncomfortable thorn that has not been seen as a problem and has not been recognized as a problem. Former President Moon Jae-in raised the ‘red flag’ as a banner of regulatory reform. “Britain created the Red Flag Act at the end of the 19th century (during the Industrial Revolution) to protect coachmen. A man waved a red flag in front of the car to match the speed of the car to the speed of the carriage. Eventually, the British automobile industry fell behind Germany and the United States. It was because of the regulations.” All governments have regarded regulations as “objects that hinder business activities and must be overhauled,” but former and incumbent presidents have slightly different governing styles, perceptions of real problems, and even different metaphors depending on their value orientation. If President Lee Myung-bak, who emphasized the ‘site’ as represented by “Have you tried it?”, preached big regulations like the thick telephone poles visible at the site of the Daebul Industrial Complex, President Park Geun-hye enjoyed countless small thorns that are not easily visible on a more rhetoric level. There is also a comment saying that it was written. If President Moon Jae-in advocated overhauling regulations that have already ‘established vested interests’ in our socio-economic economy, President Yoon’s choice of shoes and sandbags worn by national team players as metaphors has nothing to do with the state administration philosophy of ‘free market competition’. There are also reviews that say it doesn’t look like it. Anyway, the government is using the regulatory reformist slogan of ‘stones in shoes’ again after 10 years. Senior Reporter Jo Kye-wan kyewan@hani.co.kr