The government estimates 750,000 Koreans are unemployed but the figure is really 3.17 million. Many Koreans excluded from the official figure have given up looking for work. One in every eight "economically active" Koreans, or those between the ages of 15 and 64, are actually unemployed.

Exports during November fell 18 percent compared to last year. Facilities investments by businesses during the fourth quarter are forecast to have dropped 7.2 percent, while private consumption is projected to have declined 0.8 percent compared to last year. Domestic automobile sales in November were down 27 percent. Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's largest shipbuilder, and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, ranked third in the world, did not win a single contract in October or November. All economic indicators point to the worst conditions since the Asian financial crisis, indicating the Korean economy will fall deeper into stagnation.

We will greet the New Year in just 15 days. But Jan. 1, 2009 will not be a day filled with hopes and dreams. It will instead be the starting point of a downward spiral for the economy, society and the global environment toward a worst-case scenario. The Bank of Korea projects next year's economic growth to bumble to 2 percent. President Lee Myung-bak said on Monday that he will try to maintain 2 to 3 percent growth. Private consumption, corporate investments and export growth are expected to decline, while massive unemployment is expected during the first half of next year, with the creation of just 40,000 new jobs.

As it greets a New Year fraught with dangers, the government must review whether its key officials are capable of responding effectively to crisis situations. In order to find the right people, political biases must be overcome and a wide net cast. It is impossible to overcome this crisis under ministers and heads of government who have lost the confidence of investors.

The government has failed in its initial attempt to deal with the crises. Government policies came too late, while confusion pervaded the country’s financial markets due to inconsistent comments made by government ministries. The problem stems from the way the Lee administration has divided responsibilities -- entrusting the Ministry of Strategy and Finance to handle international finance operations while the Financial Services Commission oversees the domestic sector. Only recently did the government begin to hold regular financial oversight meetings and form an overarching entity to handle policies aimed at dealing with the economic crisis. Government organization must be overhauled to make it more responsive.

According to the Bank of Korea, listed companies posted average profits of 5.9 percent in the third quarter, down 1.7 percentage points from the second quarter, and the lowest profit rate since the first quarter of 2003. The situation next year is expected to be much worse. Most companies are still unable to set business objectives for next year. But the government's foreign exchange policies and pump-priming measures are insufficient. Management and unions, employers and employees, major business conglomerates and their subcontracted firms, must unite in the hope that competitive products can save their companies. We must not focus on short-term performance, but increase research and development spending to prepare for a post-crisis period.

If we were to assess the responses of politicians to the economic crisis, we would surely receive the poorest grades among the governments that participated in last month's G20 summit in Washington. In order for political leadership to help overcome the crisis, the government and ruling party must reach an understanding on crisis awareness, set objectives, and find the means to achieve those goals. Ruling party lawmakers must demonstrate determination to save the country by coming together, rather than being embroiled in factional feuding. But the ruling party is splintered by factions and dissenting voices.

Lawmakers are fighting over upcoming by-elections in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. A date has yet to be set for that election. The ruling party was split over deregulatory measures in the capital and over a plan to pursue balanced development. Ruling party lawmakers are also offering different views regarding the cross-Korea canal project as well. It will be impossible to convince the public this way and even more difficult to win the support of opposition parties in overcoming the crisis.

With no elections until next year's by-elections in April, opposition parties should spend the next 100 days pursuing a tactic different from the outdated mode of political brinkmanship that dates back to the 1970s and 1980s, and look for specific ways to help the needy during these difficult times.

During America's Great Depression of the 1930s, stage and screen actors reached out to the needy and consoled them through performances and movies. This was when the musical --considered the most American of art forms -- took root. Artists decorated walls in desolate cities with colorful murals to breathe courage into workers. The government actively supported artists during that difficult time via its Federal Art Project.

Korean intellectuals should go beyond forming factions to gain political clout and instead look for ways to use their abilities to shine beacons of hope towards the public.

The public is being pushed further toward the dark and rough ocean of economic doom. Unless we all play a part in the recovery, we may end up tumbling down the cliff of despair before we reach the banks of hope.