Roh sees South Korea's future as a high-tech economic hub in northeast Asia, and his domestic development plans include port and transportation infrastructure projects, rail and road links through North Korea and more spending on science and technology in the south. All of this will require cooperation from the chaebols, who have been instrumental in South Korean economic drives in the past and have played a key role in inter-Korean reconciliation. Thus Roh will find himself forced to choose between his initial strong stance on chaebol reform and his need for support from these very same business leaders.
How Roh manages to balance these three priorities in his first few months in office will have a lasting affect on South Korea well beyond Roh's tenure. And the security crisis with North Korea and the unsteady relations with the United States are only the most immediate problems for Seoul. With the rising economic and political might of China on one side of the Koreas and the economically waning and remilitarizing Japan on the other, South Korea faces a major challenge for the future.
STRATFOR
Additional analysis from STRATFOR.com can be found at:
http://www.stratfor.com
This article is reprinted with permission from the publisher.
How Roh manages to balance these three priorities in his first few months in office will have a lasting affect on South Korea well beyond Roh's tenure. And the security crisis with North Korea and the unsteady relations with the United States are only the most immediate problems for Seoul. With the rising economic and political might of China on one side of the Koreas and the economically waning and remilitarizing Japan on the other, South Korea faces a major challenge for the future.
STRATFOR
Additional analysis from STRATFOR.com can be found at:
http://www.stratfor.com
This article is reprinted with permission from the publisher.