THE ROK PRESIDENT OF 2013-2018: WHO SHOULD LEAD THE NATION AT THIS CRITICAL TIME?

In December 2012 Korea will elect a new president to lead the nation until the year 2018. What happens in these five years will be critical to the future of Korea. The first step in choosing a new president is to consider the challenges Korea will face in the years ahead. The second step is to consider how prepared a presidential candidate is to meet those challenges. Korean voters will be tempted to vote for a candidate who promises to make their economic lives better, but many of the challenges that Korea faces are bigger than the nation. The next president must be able to see the big picture of international relations, and he or she will also need a long-term policy to transform North Korea into a society and economy that can eventually be merged with Korea. Unfortunately, no one can know exactly what challenges Korea will face in the years ahead, but voters can try to judge who will do the best job of leading them by ignoring promises and instead considering each candidate's character, principles, intelligence, and ability to work and communicate with others.