Park's planned policy may boost social conflict

SEOUL - South Korea's president-elect Park Geun-hye's planned socio-economic policy may boost social conflicts in Seoul due to the expected conflicts among various parties interested, a local think tank said Sunday.

According to a report by the Hyundai Research Institute, Park's presidential election pledges related to the socio-economic policy included an increase in social welfare spending, high-quality job creation and fair trade regulation on big companies.

The growing social spending would require the government to find a way of financing such as taxation, but it may cause conflicts among various parties concerned, the think tank said.

During the presidential campaign, Park pledged to reduce tax exemptions, impose taxes on financial income and scale down the public business projects in a bid to finance welfare spending.

The pledge to add high-wage paying, high-quality jobs would cause conflicts between the management and the labor union as it would raise labor costs for companies, the report said, noting that excessive regulation on large firms may weaken corporate investment.

However, the think tank noted that Park became the first female president in Seoul to garner more than half of all votes since democratic elections were introduced in 1987, saying that if her pledges are implemented successfully, South Korea can become a fair society where growth and efficiency exist together.