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Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn indicated Thursday he plans to bring no major changes to key policies of the administration, despite the opposition bloc's calls to suspend or delay controversial policies.
Hwang has been serving as the country's acting president since Dec. 9, when the National Assembly impeached President Park Geun-hye over allegations that she allowed her close friend to exert influence on state affairs and raise unlawful profits.
Park's controversial policies include the deployment of an advanced U.S. missile system in the country, as well as the Seoul-Tokyo treaty on the sexual enslavement of Korean women during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.
"The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery is directly linked with the lives of the people," Hwang said during a press meeting. Opposition parties, which have been protesting the deployment citing diplomatic troubles with China, claim the issue should be rediscussed by a new administration.
The South Korean government, on the other hand, has been insisting that the THAAD system is vital to improving the country's defense capabilities against North Korea's nuclear provocations.
Hwang also said the controversial Seoul-Tokyo treaty must also have a sense of continuity, ruling out possibilities of scrapping the deal.
"We need to settle things and head toward the future," Hwang said. "I cannot help but say the treaty was reached by the two countries."
South Korea and Japan reached a deal in December 2015, where Tokyo agreed to provide 1 billion yen (US$9.61 million) for the creation of a foundation aimed at supporting the victims, euphemistically called comfort women. The opposition parties claim the agreement was made too hasty without earning enough consent from the victims.
"I believe it is appropriate to have teens study history without any distortion or bias," Hwang also said. The government said earlier this week it will postpone the implementation of the controversial state-authored history textbooks by one year to 2018 amid growing demand to nullify the publication.
Critics say the textbook is intended to glorify the dictatorship of Park's father, Park Chung-hee, who ruled the country for 18 years after seizing power in a military coup in 1961.
The press meeting was held at a "samgyetang" restaurant in Seoul that serves the traditional chicken soup made with ginseng and garlic, to help poultry farmers hit by the latest nationwide outbreak of bird flu in the country.
South Korea quarantine officials have slaughtered more than 22.5 million poultry so far as part of intense efforts to contain a bird flu that has ravaged chicken farms across the country. The outbreak also dealt a huge blow to the local consumption of chickens.
"It is heartbreaking that the spread of bird flu has resulted in difficulties of stockbreeding farmhouses, agricultural households and other self-employed businessmen, along with other low income earners," Hwang said.
After being inaugurated the acting president, Hwang has been remaining relatively low-key in rolling out his duties in state affairs, while the opposition parties continued to keep watchful eyes on his activities, with some claiming he should refrain from being active as Hwang was also a part of the troubled Park administration.
Hwang said he will also exercise his authority on state personnel issues if necessary, adding prolonged vacancy in certain spots could have an adverse impact on the national economy. Taking the opposition bloc's concern into consideration, however, the acting president said he will also expand communication with the political realm.
Hwang did not comment clearly on his presidential bid. Some politicians in the conservative bloc have been claiming Hwang could be an option amid the lack of sufficient candidates.
Opinion polls show U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Moon Jae-in, former head of the main opposition Democratic Party, are leading in terms of popularity, although it is uncertain whether Ban will join the ruling Saenuri Party or start one on his own.
(YONHAP)
