Roh to Raise Social Disparity at Summit
- From: "Chim" <ChimS1@xxxxxxx>
- Date: 18 Nov 2005 03:06:23 -0800
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - In the shadow of skyscrapers in one of the
South Korean capital's most expensive neighborhoods lies a village of
2,000 families with homes made from cardboard and vinyl, a stark
illustration of economic polarization in the world's 11th-largest
economy.
The deepening inequality between the rich and the poor is an issue
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, a former human rights lawyer,
plans to raise at the annual Pacific Rim leaders summit that opened
Friday in the South Korean port city of Busan.
Roh and 20 other leaders from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
forum will discuss efforts to bridge social gaps in the region,
according to a draft of their final statement seen by The Associated
Press.
"We understand the gravity of providing opportunities to those who had
been less able to benefit from the development of the region," the
draft says. "We agreed to work together to help members prevent and
overcome the deepening inequality among different sectors and groups as
an aftermath of unbalanced economic growth."
The issue has come up before at the APEC summit, although some argue
the forum's main goal of breaking down cross-border barriers to foster
trade widens gaps between developed and developing nations.
The issue is personal for Roh, a vocal supporter of the socially and
economically marginalized.
"When the legacies of poverty produce an increasing number of people
without hope, it alone can constitute a threat to peace," Roh said
Friday in a speech to business leaders on the sidelines of the APEC
summit. "It is time for us to search for ways we all can share the
fruit of development stemming from globalization."
South Korea, whose economic growth thrives on exports, advocates free
trade.
But signs of social gaps are evident in the bustling capital Seoul:
hundreds of homeless people line up in front of the central train
station during lunch hours for free food, and more than 4,000 people
illegally occupy land in one of the richest neighborhoods.
A typical family in the Guryong village amid the posh Gangnam
neighborhood lives cramped in a house of less than 108 square feet made
of scavenged cardboard and vinyl. But just a few blocks away stands one
of the city's tallest apartment buildings, equipped with luxurious
amenities such as an indoor golf range and banquet halls.
"We can't send our children to school because we can't be registered as
legal residents," said Lee Yoon-keun, 71, who has lived in Guryong
village for 17 years. "We live in constant fear that electricity may be
cut off suddenly."
Lee, a parking lot attendant, said the contrast in living standards in
the neighborhood is "the difference between the sky and a basement."
However, landlords in the area allege that some squatters have cars and
televisions, and that they refuse to leave because they want to win
ownership of the prime real estate. Lawyers have battled for years over
the land.
Roh said last week he will raise the issue of social disparities at the
two-day APEC leaders' summit that began Friday.
"The more you emphasize a business-friendly environment, social
disparity tends to get wider," Roh told foreign correspondents in
Seoul. "And if that happens as a result, the deprived tend to get
excluded from the market, which also brings the result of reducing the
market."
Since taking office in 2003, Roh has unsuccessfully tried to relocate
the country's administrative capital from Seoul to a southern province
to foster development in rural areas. Roh's administration has also
mapped out measures to tackle high real-estate prices in large cities.
There is a "growing sense of disparity" in South Korea and other
developed countries in addition to poorer countries such as Cambodia
and Laos, said Jane Skanderup, director of programs at the Hawaii-based
Pacific Forum Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"That is a good theme to echo because an awful lot of globalization is
perceived as benefiting the haves," Skanderup said.
11/18/05 05:16 EST
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. The information contained in the
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