Won makes 'green' case for presidency

Governor Won Hee-ryong of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province holds a press conference near Mount Songak in Seogwipo in this Oct. 25 file photo, vowing to keep Jeju Island clean and green for the next generation. Courtesy of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province

Two-term governor ‘s agenda centers around ‘reasonableness,' defying Korea's politics as usual

By Kim Ji-soo

JEJU ISLAND ― The seas off this southern island were tranquil Monday, as Seoul and the larger metropolitan area were dealing with a chilling rise in the number of coronavirus infections. It is exactly for that tranquility and the clean green environment that many pandemic-fatigued people still travel to the southern island to seek solace.

If anything, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the island's natural environment. Rising on that platform is its governor Won Hee-ryong, the governor who has declared his intent to run in the 2022 presidential election.

As is the tradition in Korean politics, presidential hopefuls come to the fore around the fourth year of the incumbent administration's single five-year term. Several hopefuls such as former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, and Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung are forging to the fore as ruling camp's hopefuls;Won is one among the presidential hopeful from the opposition conservative bloc.

At 56, the former prosecutor, lawyer, three-term lawmaker and the incumbent governor in his second term is making his second presidential attempt. Won may have in mind compatriot islanders who have gone down the path before him. Former South Korean presidents such as the late President Kim Young-sam, from Geoje Island, and Kim Dae-jung from Haeui Island, respectively are islanders.

The governor said he's ready to address challenges wrought by the politicized governance of the current Moon Jae-in administration as well as challenges from climate change and inequality.

"I believe that a change of leader is something that can bring about the most tangible turnaround with the most effect," Won told The Korea Times at his office in Jeju City.

Governor Won Hee-ryong looks on while a citizen is tested for COVID-19 at a public testing site within Jeju Airport in this March 29 file photo. /Korea Times file

"I believe that a president must let diverse voices and factors rise up in the country like a blast furnace. I think a leader should exercise leadership where different voices and abilities are recognized and encouraged for the larger whole," Won said.

"Issues that are not political per se should be depoliticized," he said.

Is he up to the task?

"I surely will take that stance," he said. "I can take one, two steps, and the next administration will take the additional ones," he said.

Native son made proud

Before he entered central government politics, Won was already a star in his hometown. The graduate of Jeju Jeil High School is known to have achieved the top score in a college entrance exam nationwide. The graduate of Seoul National University's Department of Law also had the highest score in the nation's bar exam in 1992.

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After working as a prosecutor and a lawyer, he entered the National Assembly on the then-conservative Grand National Party, ticket in 2000. After three terms as national legislator, he began his first term on Jeju in July 2014. He won his second term in 2018, in an election where opposition conservatives were all but shattered in other localities.

Won in person exudes a strong sense of confidence. There is a certain cadence and presence to his speech. He himself has said he could probably out-debate anyone.

Politically, he stands slightly to the right-of-center on most issues ― a moderate conservative. He espouses leadership based on common sense, positivity and a bright future outlook. With these seemingly vague-sounding words, he cuts a contrasting figure to the vocal, feisty outspoken leaders that "the times seem to want," he noted. He may have in mind the outspoken Gyeonggi Governor Lee with whom Won has been sparring indirectly on every issue from universal basic income, real estate and housing policies.

He also jumped ahead of the main opposition People Power Party to apologize for the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, to illustrate a new beginning for the conservatives.

Having announced his bid for the presidential election, Won did not hesitate to criticize the incumbent administration's diplomacy, the shift to populism in policies and politicizing economic issues.

On diplomacy

On the sharpening Sino-U.S. rivalry, Won stressed that South Korea should not be forced to choose sides and must emphasize its national interest as a top priority.

"We need to affirm that our relationship with the United States is a longstanding alliance, and our relationship with China, whose social system differs from ours, is a strategic partnership," he said.

In relations with neighboring Japan, Won added that domestic politics should not come into play in diplomacy.

On economy and inequality

On the economy and the inequality it has wrought,
"It's worrisome that the hope and desires of the young are weakening as a group per se. And when they perceive the inequality as etched in stone, social hate and anger will grow to prompt possibly populist policies," Won said.

On the current administration's signature economic policies, he called for a regulated pursuit of the Moon Jae-in's income-led growth, or adoption of universal basic income.

For now, he won't give specifics and leans on a general outline of how he wants to govern.

"There are several things I want to achieve. First, we have to strengthen the social safety net. In terms of future growth engines, we need to innovate education, deregulate to allow innovative industries to come to life and align globally to provide new fresh impetus and transform the societal environment," he said.

Governor Won Hee-ryong of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province talks to officials at the Gangjeong Water Purification facility after larvae were found in Jeju tap water in this Oct. 21 file photo. / Korea Times file

On clean and green transformation

As the governor of the island that aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, Won seems intent on seizing on the concept of "clean and green," as his interpretation of Korea's zeitgeist. It is a clean and green model of growth, a notion the southern island adopted about a decade ago that has found stronger resonance in the coronavirus pandemic age.

Toward that aim, he pledged to prevent rampant development of Jeju's natural environment with the "Clean Jeju Songak Declaration."

There is so much potential in his hometown that he urges foreign firms or media companies to move offices to the island, especially as Hong Kong faces constraints to its way of doing business and democratic functions.

Asked if he is under-positioned, compared to those already in central mainland politics, Won acknowledges that there is that.
"If one can sing, one can compete in a national song contest right?" he alluded.

"But if one can survive two terms on Jeju, then you can say one can take on just about anything," he said.