President Park Geun-hye has vowed to establish a strong foundation for the South Korean economy, identifying the government's second stage public-sector reform plans as an immediate task.
 
At a New Year’s news conference at the presidential office on Monday, the president pledged to spur her reform campaign in four key areas, including the public sector, labor, finance and education.  
 
Calling the public-sector reform as the beginning of all other reforms, Park said that the second-stage normalization process will focus on eliminating or integrating unnecessary or overlapping functions.
 
The president said if such endeavors bear fruit, the public sector would see productivity and efficiency rise and would be able to provide cheaper and more efficient services to the public. 
 
On overhauling the labor market, Park called on labor and management to, by any means, produce by March comprehensive reform measures based on the spirit of co-prosperity.
 
She stressed that reforming the labor market is not a choice but an essential strategy for survival. The president said that it is difficult to create good quality jobs and breathe new life into the economy without resolving the dual structure of the labor market divided by regular and non-regular workers.
 
Park pointed out that labor and management representatives agreed on the basic principles and direction in reforming the labor market on December 23rd of last year. She said with the agreement, South Korea saw hope that it can achieve a grand social compromise like the ones the Netherlands and Denmark witnessed.