Prudence expected from Korea’s new president

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Prudence expected from Korea’s new president

Published: 09 Jun. 2025, 00:01

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Choi Hoon

The author is the senior columnist at the JoongAng Ilbo.

Lee Jae-myung, Korea’s newly elected president, has long shown a sharp instinct for calculation. His diaries, written from the time he was a teenage factory worker to his university years, reveal a practical mind shaped by poverty. One entry from 1980 reads: “Worked at a necklace factory for 10,000 won a month. (A sack of rice costs 35,000 won.) The won is falling — now 580 to the dollar. Savings interest has gone from 18 percent to 24 percent. Prices will probably rise.” Later that year, he wrote: “Opened my first bank account. With a 200,000 won scholarship, I withdrew 20,000 and deposited the rest. I’m giving 100,000 won to my family this month.” In 1982, he added: “New textbooks cost 9,000 won each. Bought one secondhand in Cheonggyecheon for 7,000. Training clothes for military education were 4,500 won. The material is poor, but the school sells them for 9,500.”

President Lee Jae-myung, left, shakes hands with Park Chan-dae, right, acting leader of the ruling Democratic Party, at a ceremony to mark the 70th Memorial Day at the Seoul National Cemetery in Seoul on June 6. [YONHAP]

These entries reflect how financial survival required constant comparison, balance and judgment. Now, 33 years later, those instincts meet their biggest test. As Korea’s new head of state, President Lee Jae-myung inherits a daunting national crisis — one some compare to the conditions faced by President Kim Dae-jung during Korea’s near-default in the late 1990s.

In his inaugural address, Lee vowed to lead a "flexible, pragmatic government for sustained growth.” He declared that ideological divisions had no place in the new administration. “The era of left versus right is over,” he said, adding that “old ideologies belong in historical museums,” and that any useful policy — whether associated with Park Chung Hee or Kim Dae-jung — should be considered. Even a favorite movie quote of his, from "Welcome to Dongmakgol" (2005), reflects this pragmatism: “What more can you do but do?” — spoken by a North Korean officer admiring a village elder’s quiet authority.

This attitude echoes the ethos of past presidents. Kim Dae-jung called for combining “a merchant’s realism and a scholar’s conscience,” while Roh Moo-hyun once remarked, “Whether left or right, it’s about everyone living well.” Lee seems to seek a nation that grows economically while upholding fairness and justice.

For this, he must embrace a quality too often overlooked in modern politics: prudence. Derived from the Latin prudentia and hailed by Aristotle as a ruler’s essential trait, prudence was later described by Edmund Burke as the “foremost political virtue.” It includes judgment, restraint, foresight and a careful consideration of consequences — traits often undervalued in times of crisis. In today’s polarized environment, prudence can be misinterpreted as indecision. Progressives who favor bold, surgical reforms may even see it as a weakness. But prudent governance is not about hesitance; it is about governing with clarity and caution.

The new administration must first ensure that its decisions account for real-world risks. As Max Weber emphasized in his “ethic of responsibility,” political leadership means accepting the consequences of one’s choices. Past missteps offer clear warnings. The Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s reckless martial law plan and the Moon Jae-in administration’s punitive real estate taxes — which ended up pricing out working families — illustrate how even well-intended policies can produce harm when risks are ignored. Even initiatives grounded in public sentiment or moral outrage — such as expanding the Supreme Court — demand pause and reflection.

Second, every choice must be preceded by rigorous calculation. The Lee administration has shown interest in regional currencies and universal basic income — policies rooted in the desire to reduce inequality and expand welfare. These may carry good intentions, but political environments are volatile. Public opinion is fickle, and outcomes often diverge from ideals. Policymakers must use every tool — data, reason, institutional memory — to forecast consequences. The road to failure is often paved with unexamined goodwill. Moon’s rapid minimum wage hikes, for example, caused unintended damage to small businesses and youth employment. Prudence means not seeking perfection, but knowing enough to distinguish what works from what only sounds right.

Finally, timing matters. A presidency is finite. Choosing which policies to pursue and when to pursue them is as critical as the policies themselves. Lee must weigh his twin goals — prosecuting perceived threats to the state and reviving the economy — in the context of what the moment demands. Priorities must shift with circumstance. That is the discipline of prudence.

The presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, is pictured on June 4, the start of President Lee Jae-myung’s term. [YONHAP]

This virtue will be tested most acutely in foreign policy. In international relations, where sovereign powers act without referees, strength and survival take precedence. President Lee has rightly emphasized the importance of the Korea-U.S. alliance, a peaceful relationship with North Korea, and pragmatic ties with China and Russia. Yet diplomacy demands balance. Excessive idealism can be fatal. As international politics reminds us, peace is sustained by strength.

President Lee has made a strong case for pragmatism and performance in government. But beyond administrative speed and effectiveness, what will sustain public trust is prudence — governance that is thoughtful, measured and responsible. This means instituting independent checks within the personnel system, communicating clearly about policy choices, and making decisions that are neither impulsive nor delayed.

Prudence is not just a personal trait. It is a political necessity. For a country that needs healing, stability and forward motion, it may be the one virtue that matters most.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.