Former officials close to Lee to launch anti-populism campaign

SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- Former senior government officials and aides to President Lee Myung-bak will launch an advocacy group this week to spearhead a campaign against populism, officials said Monday, as debates over welfare populism heat up ahead of major elections next year.
Legal experts, scholars and other figures in the civil society will also participate in the "Good Society" forum scheduled to kick off on Wednesday, they said. Leading the group will be former high-level officials, including ex-Agriculture Minister Jang Tae-pyoung.
Jang will co-head the forum together with former Gangwon Province Gov. Kim Jin-sun, officials said. Other participants include former Home Affairs Minister Lee Dal-gon and former Health Minister Kim Soung-yee, they said.
The move comes a week after Seoul held a referendum on the city's opposition-led free school lunch program that former Mayor Oh Se-hoon and his ruling Grand National Party have denounced as a populist policy putting heavy burden on government budget.
The referendum was invalidated as it failed to draw enough voters. The outcome was a victory for opposition parties that have urged citizens to boycott the vote to continue with the free lunch program. Oh voluntarily stepped down on Friday as he had pledged to quit if he failed to block the program through the referendum.
"If populism and regional and collective selfishness are prevalent like now, the country's future cannot but be dark," a key official involved in the envisioned campaign said on condition of anonymity. "Intellectuals concerned about the situation have stepped forward to prevent state policies and politics from being swayed by populism."
Officials said that ex-Mayor Oh may take part in the forum.
Lee has repeatedly voiced concern about lawmakers putting forth a series of costly welfare policy proposals to woo voters ahead of next year's general elections, saying populism could lead the country to bankruptcy as seen in the European debt crisis.
Critics said the envisioned group could work as a political bodyguard for Lee ahead of his final year in office next year, but officials involved stressed that they have no intention of getting involved in politics.
jschang@yna.co.kr