South Korea’s Sarkozy

Like France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, Lee is also determined to improve ties with the United States, which were badly damaged under Roh. Roh sought greater independence from Korea's traditional ally while pursuing reconciliation with the North. Relations with the White House grew especially strained over Kim Jong Il's illicit nuclear-weapons program: Washington favored sticks (such as sanctions), while Seoul insisted on carrots (greater aid for Pyongyang). Now, says Lee, the North won't enjoy any more largesse without first making decisive progress on the nuclear issue. "The South and North should seek joint prosperity while maintaining peace," says Lee. "[But] we cannot seek that kind of relationship, and unification, if the North keeps its nuclear weapons." It's a shift that could well bring Seoul and Washington back into synchrony.

Lee has made it clear in other ways that Washington, not Pyongyang, will remain Seoul's best friend; he says that South Korea would never have boomed or become a democracy without American help. His affection hasn't gone unnoticed: the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a resolution congratulating him on his election (a first for a Korean leader). To further his vision of a Global Korea, meanwhile, Lee has come up with a revolutionary English-education plan, under which thousands of English teachers would be hired to make average Koreans fluent in the language.

But these ambitious projects have run into stiff opposition, which could increase now that he's taken office. Part of the problem is that Lee's mandate was never as clear as it seemed. True, he won twice as many votes as his liberal opponent, Chung Dong Young, who carried the progressive torch for the term-limited Roh. But that margin may have been mostly the result of the chaotic and confrontational Roh's unpopularity (he had a single-digit approval rating by the end of his term). "People didn't like [Roh]," says Prof. Hahm Sung Deuk of Korea University. "[But] a substantial number of people disapprove of Lee's policies." To further complicate matters, Lee won't be able to ram through reforms without solid support in Parliament—and for the moment, it remains dominated by the liberal opposition. This means Lee may have to place many of his initiatives on hold until the legislative elections in April. That will leave plenty of time for his opponents to throw wrenches into the works. His enemies are numerous and not confined to the left: a new right-wing party founded by Lee Hoi Chang, a former Lee associate who is even more conservative, could siphon crucial votes and jeopardize Lee's chances of winning a legislative majority.

While the president's approval rating is still high thanks to the honeymoon effect, it dropped from the mid-80s to the mid-70s in recent weeks due to a series of entirely avoidable missteps. His English education program was roundly criticized as unreasonably ambitious (at one point, the plans included starting to conduct many high-school classes nationwide in English) and an affront to Korean pride. His decision to reform the machinery of government before taking office triggered a row with the opposition that could slow confirmation for his cabinet. Liberal groups like the opposition United Democratic Party have accused him of planning to pursue harsh U.S.-style, winner-take-all economic policies. Arguing that Korea's welfare spending (measured as a portion of the total budget) is still just half that of countries like Sweden, they've contested his proposed cuts and his canal project, which critics charge is ecologically dangerous. The new president "is obsessed with development," says Song Young Gil, an opposition lawmaker. "Our time needs different values, such as welfare, culture and the environment."

And in a country where 48 percent of those in their 20s and 30s voice anti-American sentiment (according to a Seoul National University poll), Lee's pro-Washington stance and his hawkishness toward the North seem likely to run into serious trouble. The past few years have seen a nationalistic backlash against foreign investors who swooped in after the 1997 financial crisis, scooping up troubled assets at rock-bottom prices. Of course, the angry Korean reaction to these "vultures" overlooked the fact that they helped many local firms, such as Daewoo Motors, avoid bankruptcy. Yet tempers remain high.

Another potential problem: Lee's relative lack of political experience. His only stint as a national policymaker—unless you count his four years as Seoul's mayor—was a single term as a junior member of Parliament back in the 1990s. Critics warn that as president, Lee will find it much harder to exercise the kind of CEO leadership he practiced at Hyundai and in city hall. "There's a big difference between governing a city and governing a country," argues Hahm, who says that Lee's distaste for the grubby give-and-take of day-to-day politics could prove crippling if he tries to rule by command.

But don't count the president out just yet. Lee's biography reveals a serious talent for getting things done under the most adverse circumstances. In 1965, as a poor youngster from the sticks who had paid for college by collecting garbage, he joined Hyundai as a construction manager, building roads in Thailand. Twelve years later he was a rich man and president of the huge conglomerate—earning him the nicknames "Korea's most successful salaryman" and "the bulldozer." Lee Choon Lim, the president's old boss at Hyundai, remembers him as a "workaholic determined to fight poverty." Later, as mayor of Seoul between 2002 and 2006, Lee showed remarkable sensitivity to concerns such as environmentalism. His biggest achievement was not to build, but to tear down an elevated highway—Seoul's main traffic artery—in order to uncover a stream beneath, restoring nature to the urban core. The project has turned out to be a huge success, with the river becoming a beloved Seoul landmark. Even his most ardent supporters will concede, though, that that's still a far cry from managing the world's 11th largest economy and a volatile country with a seriously prickly sense of national pride. Yes, Lee has won all his big battles so far—but his toughest campaign is just beginning.

© 2008