YONHAP NEWS

(profile) 'Bulldozer' Lee Myung-bak wins Koreans' hearts at right time

   By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Yonhap) -- Lee Myung-bak, a former head of the construction arm of the Hyundai Group and a former Seoul mayor, will become South Korea's first president-elect with an extensive business background at a time when economic revitalization is the top concern of the Korean people.

   Lee, who celebrated his 66th birthday and 38th wedding anniversary on election day, earned the nickname of "The Bulldozer" for his strong leadership and initiative as CEO of Hyundai Engineering & Construction.

   His campaign pledges to double the nation's per capita income to US$40,000, attain 7 percent economic growth, and build a Seoul-Busan waterway appeared to strongly appeal to voters. Complying with his conservative opposition Grand National Party's traditional policy lines, Lee's administration is expected to move closer to the White House and toughen up on North Korea, according to political experts.

   Lee's childhood portrays Korea's turbulent modern history. His impoverished parents had moved to Osaka, Japan, during the Japanese colonial occupation of Korea which lasted from 1910 to 1945. Lee was born in the Japanese city in 1941, where his father worked as a herdsman. Following Japan's defeat in World War II and Korea's liberation in 1945, his family returned home, and Lee spent most of his childhood in Pohang, a port on Korea's southeast coast.

   Looking back on his childhood poverty, Lee has often recounted how sternly his Christian mother raised her children to ensure their success. Lee's parents both died long ago.

   "All of us started our day at 4 a.m. She woke us up at that hour and together we made our early morning prayer," he said in his 1995 autobiography titled "There Is No Such Thing As Legend."
One of Lee's two brothers, Sang-deuk, is now the vice speaker of Korea's National Assembly and a five-term lawmaker of the Grand National Party.

   Lee attended Dongji Commercial High School in Pohang and went on to enter Seoul's Korea University, one of the country's most prestigious schools.

   Lee collected garbage and sold rice snacks to put himself through university before gaining employment at Hyundai Construction and Engineering in 1965.

   Many have called him a "legend of salaried men." A diligent man quick to make decisions, he climbed the Hyundai ranks unusually quickly to become CEO at the unprecedented age of 36. Under Lee's tenure, Hyundai Construction and Engineering became Korea's export-based growth engine, raking in much-needed foreign currency from Middle Eastern countries in the 1970s and 1980s.

   His story became a hit TV drama. He was portrayed as a heroic young man who challenged authoritarian then President Park Chung-hee and fought with foreign mobsters to protect his company's projects, though critics later said his role was much hyped and faked.

   His career blossomed, but the workaholic husband had little time for his wife and four children. The man who married Ewha Womans University's "May Queen" -- the beauty queen of Seoul's most prestigious women's university -- spent half his time overseas during his years at Hyundai, he recounts.

   Even on his own wedding day, he worked in the office in the morning.

   Although Lee's wife, Kim Yoon-ok, made many sacrifices for her husband's career, "I'm now so proud of and grateful to my husband Lee Myung-bak," she wrote on her blog.

   His years at Hyundai were not without their flaws. When an employee of the Hyundai firm was abducted while trying to establish a labor union in 1988, Lee was rumored to be behind the crime. But a senior executive came forward as the mastermind, and Lee denied involvement in anti-labor activities.

   His decades-long relationship with Hyundai began to unravel when he set his sights on politics. He turned his back on his former boss, then Hyundai Group Chairman Chung Ju-young, who ran for president in 1992, and threw his support behind Chung's rival, Kim Young-sam, who went on to win the election.

   "Some people think that I am deeply close to Chairman Chung Ju-young because we were together for a long time, but that's not true. We met for business, and we can separate for business as well," Lee said of his changed position in an interview with Sisa Journal in 1991.

   Lee made his political debut in 1992 as a lawmaker with the then ruling New Korea Party, the predecessor of the Grand National Party. He won a second term in 1996, but had to resign shortly thereafter, when he was found to have violated election fund laws by trying to buy off a whistle-blower. His "legend" image was much tarnished.

   Lee's fame rebounded in 2002 when he was elected mayor of Seoul. In the ensuing five years, Lee earned many fans and foes for spearheading ground-breaking projects such as the restoration of a downtown stream and the creation of bus-only traffic lanes, which dramatically changed Seoul's landscape.

   The restoration of the 6-km-long Cheonggye Stream, which was covered by asphalt roads during the industrialization era, initially provoked massive protest from environmentalists, historians and street vendors who worked along the stream.

   But "The Bulldozer" went ahead anyway, and in 2005, the stream was re-opened. Lee's controversial project became Seoul's most beloved new tourist attraction, while Time Magazine called Lee a "hero of the environment" in a recent issue.

   "I met people 4,200 times to persuade them to support the Cheonggye Stream project. There is no government office that makes so much of an effort for a project. There's nothing that can't be done if you meet your opponents 1,000 times," Lee, known to be a devout Christian, said in a recent speech to his Somang Church.

   The popular mayor then moved on, winning the presidential nomination of the popular Grand National Party in August by beating Park Geun-hye, a fixture of the conservative party as its former chairperson and daughter of late President Park Chung-hee. With most voters wanting to end 10 years of liberal rule, polls have consistently given Lee an overwhelming lead.

   However, much as his successful past has been plagued by rumors and criticism, his presidency also looks likely to be haunted by allegations of ethical lapses.

   Lee may have to face questioning by the prosecution before he takes office on Feb. 25, as an independent investigation into his financial past will kick off soon. Lawmakers voted to launch the probe on the eve of the election following the disclosure of a controversial video clip of Lee, in which he appears to say in a college lecture that in 2000, he established BBK, an investment firm that was later used by his alleged business partner for stock manipulation and embezzlement.

   The footage is a stark contrast to his earlier claim that he had no involvement whatsoever with BBK. The prosecution had earlier dismissed all charges against him. Lee will be the nation's first president-elect to face a probe.

   Amid the financial scandal, the wealthiest politician in the country has pledged to donate all his assets to the needy, saying "All I need is a house." His assets were worth 35.3 billion won (US$37.6 million) as of the end of last year. Critics say he is buying votes.

   It remains to be seen how the business legend will transform himself into a head of state, but one thing seems to be sure in voters' minds: He will get things done at any cost. He is a man who worked in the office on his own wedding day.

   hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)