Lesson for Singapore

I was attracted to an article in the Straits Times entitled "Change of Tack: One pro-business S Korea Leader now raps corporate giants".

Quote:
South Korean President Lee Myung Bak has turned on the country's powerful business congolomerats, or chaebol, blaming them for the hardship faced by workers.


"Conglomerates rake in  hundreds of billions of won in profits, but the ordinary Koreans are still suffering from economic hardship. They must feel socially responsible", he said.


The criticism got harsher when be visited a micro-credit bank, which the government launched last year to provide cheap loans to the poor.


There, Mr Lee blasted the chaebol for practising "social injustice" by running consumer finance companies that charge low-credit borrowers "usury" rates. 


"I am not coercing the conglomerates, but I am telling them to play fair. They have a large amount of cash on their hands, but they are not making investments, and instead, worsening the hardship of the working class" he said.


The chastisement is surprising as Mr Lee had spent 30 years of his working life in the Hyundai Group before going into politics.
Unquote.

I was struck that the situation in South Korea had strong resemblance to what is happening in Singapore.
President Lee knows that businesses will focus on making profits, the more the better, and cannot be coutned to play the role of government to achieve social justice and improve the lot of the ordinary people. He has decided to take the lead to achive the national goals.

When I first visited South Korean in 1985, it was under martial law. Today, South Korea has made significant progress in economic and social development. It is time for Singapore to catch up.