The Chosun Ilbo has short-listed 12 national issues as targets for the next presidential administration, to be inaugurated in February next year. This agenda, we believe, is a prerequisite for the nation's survival in the 21st century, by featuring transparency and competition.

Presidential candidates in the past elections have often come up with rough-and-ready election pledges that failed to take account of the nation's political and economic environment, and, once elected, these presidents have failed to live up to their pledges, entangled in political tugs-of-war.

With these precedents in mind, the Chosun Ilbo formed a consulting group of 48 professional analysts in August, led by five members on the group's planning committee, to work out a national agenda for the next president. The analysts have selected 12 policy targets for the next administration through discussions and research over the last three months.

The theme of the agenda includes education and human resource development; employment and labor relationship; social development and welfare; financial and public sectors' renovation; corporate restructuring; rural development; balanced development of the nation; market opening and economic cooperation; and enhancement of national competitiveness.

Through the proposals of the agendas, the Chosun Ilbo will push ahead with various policy measures, so that the country can join the ranks of advanced countries.

The team made seven major recommendations:

1. Take care of the majority of the people's needs and do not concentrate on the vocal minority.

2. Expedite corporate and financial restructuring, and reform of government and the labor market to build a system for sustainable growth.

3. Reform the education system to train required human resources to produce vitality in growth.

4. Establish a foreign economic policy that benefits the domestic economy and respond to threats and chances presented by the rise of the Northeast Asia economic region.

5. Speed up the building of a welfare and social network to prepare for an aging society, by emphasizing competition.

6. Address farmers' problems caused by market opening.

7. Improve the general living environment to raise the quality of life.

(The Chosun Ilbo)