Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kiwiduncan]

I was a bit curious about the current state of play with LMB's silly grand canal plan so thought I'd have a look at some of the Korean news websites. My Korean's getting a bit rusty but it looks like the president is trying to revive the plan in order to get the economy going again. Has anyone else heard what's going on?

[Milwaukiedave]

I haven't, but I remain interested in this as always. If the plans are revived, please let me know.

The sudden shelving of the idea made me wonder if it was just a matter of time before it would come up again.

[kiwiduncan]

Well, reading the news article I've just printed out is going to be the first bit of real Korean study I've done since getting back to New Zealand 3 months ago.

Basically Lee Myung Bak is proposing a great big clean up of the four major rivers in Korea. There won't be any connection between the rivers as proposed in the grand canal plans and they won't be building locks and other canal infrastructure. The focus will be on improving water quality rather than transporting goods.

My concern though is that this is the government's way of pushing through their canal development plan via the backdoor. Canal opponents have already voiced this concern in the past, saying that moves to dredge and widen the rivers to "improve water quality" may simply make it easier for later politicians to say "hey, we've done this much, we might as well make a canal here".

[RACETRAITOR]

What's the matter, is Lee Myungbag allergic to popularity or something?

[Milwaukiedave]

RT,

I think he is. Maybe Koreans will start in with the US Beef protests again and we'll have some good old rioting.

I've heard from several people he is also trying to screw up the national health insurance by making it similar to the US system.

It's going to be a long 5 years.

[RACETRAITOR]

I always thought the canal plan was much more riotworthy than the beef thing. Free trade is a subjective thing, but the canal plan is just stupid.

It does sound like he's really wet about privatisation, despite the fact that with the economy the way it is, this would be the single dumbest time to privatise anything.

[sojourner1]

Well they're sure not going to do anything for the fish nor natural habitat nor cleaning up the screwed up natural environment. If water quality improves, it's because manufacturing output is decreasing, thus, spewing less pollution into the natural environment; not because people in the money and business care about our natural environment. If they can get away with anything to make the big money, then they do it. Our current technology and money making strategies only destroy the natural environment.

The only reason why the natural environment has been getting better in America is we sent the factories over to Asia while decreasing farming. Today, the fish get bigger, the trees are allowed to grow to never before seen heights, and the wilderness has become more untamed with the freshest air. They say, the air turned black during the 1950's and 1960's in American cities, but today it's quite clear, even more so than Seoul.

Don't eat the fish in Korea anytime soon. Wait at least 200 years after they shut the factories or employ new green technology...

[kiwiduncan]

From today's Korea Herald editorial:

It is necessary to dredge riverbeds regularly, build new levees and repair old ones to prevent floods. It is also necessary to straighten bends in rivers for the unhindered flow of water. But these and other preventive measures have not been adequately taken in the past because of funding problems.
As a consequence of such negligence, flooding plagues communities, industrial estates and farmland along the Nakdong River during the rainy season almost every year. Other riverside areas are also afflicted with floods, if not as frequently or severely as those along the Nakdong. Relief and repair work is costly.
In dry seasons, the rivers sometimes have a severe shortage of water. The nation has to address this problem, as well as floods, by building as many dams as required.
What if the nation, which needs to spend its way out of the worst economic crisis in a decade, should focus on the water control of the four major rivers? That is exactly what President Lee Myung-baks administration plans to do next year. A senior presidential secretary calls the plan a Korean-style New Deal project.
But the 686.1 billion won ($509 million) project has not been accepted by the public. According to one of the latest opinion polls, six out of every 10 Koreans are opposed to the big-ticket project. Much of the blame must be leveled against some of those close to President Lee, who are trying to resurrect an abandoned 15-trillion won cross-country canal project.
In June, President Lee promised not to pursue his pet project in the face of mounting opposition from the public, who feared canal construction and transportation would wreak havoc on the environment.
At a news conference Wednesday, Prime Minister Han Seung-soo said the four-river water control project has nothing to do with the canal project. But he fell short of convincing skeptics because his remarks were contradicted by some of President Lees confidants, who, on the same day, launched an association of like-minded people to push for the grand canal project.
Moreover, a senior presidential secretary said earlier in the month, We will improve the quality of water in the four rivers first. Should a majority of people call for grand canal construction afterwards, we will find it impossible to ignore it.
No wonder many suspect the Lee administration is launching the four-river project as an initial stage of cross-country canal construction. They turn a deaf ear to the administrations explanation that the projects blueprint does not contain the construction of lock gates and tunnels and the digging of riverbeds 6 meters in depth, all of which would be required for canal transportation.
President Lee will do well to pave the way for an early launch of the four-river project by declaring the grand canal projects demise once and for all. He has little time to waste. His administration needs to launch this project, together with other public works projects, as soon as possible to help generate economic growth and create jobs.
According to an estimate by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, 1 trillion won spent on infrastructure will raise the annual growth rate by 0.1 percentage point by boosting investment in construction and consumer spending. It will also help create jobs and restore vitality in wilting regional economies.
The nation will have to spend as much on infrastructure as it can afford to, given that its economic growth is slowing to a near standstill and its job creation capacity is rapidly declining. As such, the administration has no time to waste in clearing the way for the four-river water control projects. Once it is launched, it should be not be allowed to run adrift in the face of public opposition, as some infrastructure projects have done in the past.