Presidency expert says voters are more drawn to personality of leaders than work ethic


President Lee Myung-bak, with his CEO-style of leadership, is failing to connect with the people, a major shortcoming for a national leader and one of the reasons why he is not getting much of the credit he deserves from the public, said an expert on presidential leadership.

“In politics, a leader should be able to capture the hearts to be successful,” Choi Jin, a politics professor at Kyonggi University told The Korea Herald.

“Unfortunately, President Lee fails in this. He works hard on what he thinks is right for the country and its people, but makes little effort to explain his motives and sincerity.”

Before being elected president in 2007, Lee ran the country’s largest builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction for nearly 20 years as CEO and then the chairman.

The conservative president is now in his final year in office, with the election to pick his successor due in December. Korean presidents are limited to a single, five-year term.

Media polls put his approval rating at around 27 percent.

There is little doubt that the president is a hard worker, but he is perceived by many, particularly young voters, as unlikable, Choi said. 

The president has shown his willingness to do anything to help the local economy and in fact, among foreign investors, he is widely credited with well-advised economic policies that they said helped the economy weather the global financial crisis.

“Many of Lee’s domestic opponents say they just don’t like him,” Choi said.

The scholar explained that Koreans, until not so long ago, judged their presidents based on whether they are good or bad ― in other words, a democratic leader or a dictator.

But nowadays, the public opinion on a president is more affected by whether he or she is likable or not.

Park Chung-hee, a military strongman who ruled the country for 18 years, is a typical example of a bad but likable president, he explained.

“Koreans do have a problem here. They tend to pin too high hopes on a president, expecting too much, too early. And when the expectations are not met, the disappointment is again too deep,” he said.

On the next presidential race, the professor said voters are likely to find more appeal in calm, stable and prudent leaders, after the 10 years under Presidents Lee Myung-bak and his predecessor Roh Moo-hyun, who he described as proactive, enthusiastic and spontaneous.

The three leading candidates for the next presidency ― Rep. Park Geun-hye, Ahn Cheol-soo and Moon Jae-in ― all appear to be this type of leaders, Choi said.

Choi leads an academic center for presidential leadership, having authored many books on the presidency in Korea, including one on Lee. Earlier this month, he set up the Korean Association of Presidential Leadership Studies, along with a handful of other scholars.

As in the past elections, the economy will be the overriding issue, once the race begins in earnest, he said.

“The candidates ― in particular Park and Moon ― will have to convince voters that they have the ability to run the economy,” Cho said. “Ahn may have an advantage in this area, because he comes from a business background,” he said.

Ahn, too, have to prove his mettle in politics, if he decides to run, as he has no political experience.

Park, the daughter of Park Chung-hee, is the ruling Saenuri Party’s strongest candidate for the presidency. Ahn Cheol-soo, a software guru-turned professor revered by many young Koreans, is rumored to be harboring presidential ambitions. Although he has yet to decide whether or not to run, the public polls had placed him above Park until early this year.

He now trails Park, while Moon, a key confidant of Roh, holds third place.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)