By Jack Burton



Korea is a main barometer of the global economy. Its economic performance correlates 85 percent of the time with global growth trends, reflecting Korea's heavy dependence on exports. So the current slowdown in Korea's economy cannot wholly be blamed on President Park Geun-hye's administration.



None the less Park could do more to counter growing negative global economic developments, such as the faltering economy of China--Korea's biggest overseas market--and weakness in other export markets caused by a drop in commodity prices and fluctuating currencies.



Her economic policies have been inconsistent. Park came into office campaigning on the theme of economic democracy, curbing the power of the chaebol and expanding social welfare services as she appeared to reject the supply-side economic policies of her predecessor, Lee Myung-bak. Park pictured herself, like George W. Bush in the 2000 U.S. election, as a compassionate conservative.



But those promises have largely been abandoned. Economic reformers have disappeared from government and she regularly hobnobs with chaebol chiefs, while the heads of small businesses complain that conditions have deteriorated under her administration.



Her goal of establishing a "creative economy" is far from the Silicon Valley model. Bureaucrats rather than entrepreneurs are leading the charge and the chaebol have been recruited as mentors, ensuring that any successful start-ups are likely to be swallowed up by their big brothers at a later date.



Moreover, talk of a "474" economy, unveiled nearly two years ago, has been rendered obsolete by the current global economic troubles. The slogan referred to a per capita income of $40,000, an employment rate of 70 percent and a growth rate of 4 percent.



Indeed, a raft of structural problems facing Korea makes it unlikely that some of these goals will be achieved in the near-term or even medium-term unless significant changes are made and challenges overcome.



What Korea needs to do is to enforce anti-trust laws to level the playing field for small businesses, promote the availability of financing for innovative companies and foster domestic demand to reduce the country's dependence on exports.



The government acknowledges the need for these measures, but little progress has been made. The administration has been distracted by first the Sewol tragedy and then the MERS outbreak over the past two years, while Park appears more focused now on such trivial issues as pushing for a state-authorized history textbook that is costing her a lot of political capital.



Park's biggest recent economic initiative has been labor reform, an admirable goal but one that has been poorly sold to the public, leaving the impression that the government is pushing it to benefit the chaebol.



In short, the economic policy of the Park administration has been one of drift, with the lack of a focused drive to score at least a few notable achievements. Good ideas are promoted and then abandoned.



The slowing economy will only make it difficult to carry out reforms as the public will likely see any changes as being disruptive to their livelihoods. In addition, the forthcoming parliamentary elections in April almost certainly will delay any proposed reforms because of fears they could cost votes. Once the parliamentary elections are over, Park will be firmly in lame duck territory, rendering her largely ineffective in pushing through any changes.



The only area where Park has achieved some progress is in expanding welfare, by introducing more free day care and increased old-age pensions. But these gains cannot survive unless there is economic growth as well to support them.



In retrospect, the Park administration will be seen as representing a wasted opportunity to steer Korea along a clear path to future growth. It is now up to her successor to adopt a comprehensive approach to solving the economy's structural issues.



