TOKYO – South Korea is taking Milton Friedman’s “never let a crisis go to waste” edict to new heights — literally.
In his 1962 book “Capitalism and Freedom”, the Nobel laureate argued that emergencies are the perfect moment to implement destabilizing but necessary reforms — when everyone is off balance. Case in point: the Iran war. President Lee Jae Myung is taking that strategy to heart as he works to raise Korea’s financial standing and eliminate the “Korea discount.”
Lee said that “at times like this, resolving the necessary measures and reform tasks is the way to prepare for a new start,” Lee said on March 18 at a meeting to build a “capital market strong in crisis and trusted by the people.”