Occupying the role of Prime Minister in any country at any time, is a challenge that would overwhelm all but the most determined of individuals. Recent years have proved even more challenging, with the collapse of the Lehman Brothers in 2008 sparking a global economic crisis, which has had a devastating impact throughout the world. In South Korea the situation and impact of the crisis was no different, yet politicians and economists including Dr Han Seung-Soo have had to overcome such challenges, to enable Korea to flourish as a thriving nation in the modern world.
On 29th February 2008, with the world in the process of economic regression, Dr Han Seung-Soo became Prime Minister of South Korea. The 76-year-old, who graduated with a doctorate in economics from York in 1968 and only this week returned to the University to give the annual Vice-Chancellor’s lecture, faced the challenge of not only maintaining relations with North Korea, but also stabilising the country in a time of economic hardship.
Discussing the current state of Korea, Dr Han said: “Korea is a full fledged democracy and people enjoy the benefits of democracy. Korea has endured some very difficult times with a fully authoritarian government and now I think politically we are doing well. Economically we’ve had some difficult years, but in the last fifty years I think we have made some great strides in the area of economics. Compared with the years that I came to York it is a completely different country, politically, economically, socially and globally.”
Dr Han’s expertise in economics and previous political experience in a series of cabinet positions helped to prepare him for the challenge of the role of Prime Minister. He added: “I have been in politics for many years, and before I was invited to become Prime Minister I was a long time before that Minister of Foreign Affairs and Finance Minister among other posts, so this wasn’t a new sort of role for me.
“During my year the world economy was very poor and we had the collapse of the Lehman brothers, so on one hand I had the short term problem of the collapse of the Lehman brothers and at the same time I had to think of long term policy for Korea to make the economy stronger in the world. We moved from quantity to quality paradigm, and I’ve focused a lot on green growth policies and that has become an area that Korea is now one of the frontrunners in.”
Indeed South Korea is now Asia’s fourth largest economy, as well as the world’s 15th largest, and is primarily driven by exportation, with production focusing around industries such as electronics, automobiles and robotics. Dr Han is clearly proud of his contribution in aiding the development of Korea over the past decade during his 18 months as Prime Minister, and many of the skills and knowledge that he garnered originated from his years at York in the 1960s.
Looking back at his time at York, Dr Han, who was one of the first overseas students at the University told me: “I was one of the first students when York was created in 1963 and I thought that York would be old and historic like the medieval city, so I was a bit disappointed on my arrival. However I had very good professors and the economics department had an excellent reputation worldwide. I gathered a lot of good experience from interacting with the professors and on the whole I enjoyed my time at York, which enabled me to work at home in Korea and around the world.”
The University has evolved greatly since Dr Han left in 1968, expanding both geographically and numerically, whilst offering a wider range of academic and extra-curricular opportunities. He said: “When we started our career here there was no such building (Berrick Saul), there was nothing here. We stayed at the Manor House (Heslington Hall). Now there are so many buildings so I got lost as none of these buildings were here. When I received my honorary doctorate from York in 1993 there were more buildings here, but it’s changed a great deal again since, and every time I come to York I am surprised to see not only new buildings but also the new reputation of the University, so I’m very pleased.”
The annual Vice-Chancellor’s lecture has seen individuals such as Professor Richard Dawkins and Sir Roger Penrose act as guest speaker at the University, and this year in the 50th anniversary of the institution Dr Han had the honour of providing his lecture on the importance of the conservation of air and water. Having previously occupied a series of prestigious economic positions, such as Special Envoy of the Secretary General for Climate Change, Dr Han is one of the most qualified individuals to provide an insightful lecture on such a topic.
It was clearly an honour for Dr Han to be asked to provide his lecture on a topic which means so much to him, and he said: “I’m very pleased and also honoured to talk to people in York on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the University of York. I’m very happy to be back in York. Today I wanted to talk about my experiences and what we should do from now to limit climate change and protect the environment.”
As a member of the prestigious Club De Madrid for past Presidents and Prime Ministers, Dr Han regularly attends speeches and conferences across the world, and has events in London and Singapore in the near future. He finished by adding: “Most of my time I spend outside of Korea, and soon I’m off to New York and I have to travel quite a lot to places including Beijing and Hong Kong. I’m delighted to be back at York even if it is for only two days, and I hope that all of the current students continue to work hard and achieve something to help benefit the world in their area of speciality.”