Translation resultHong Seong-guk, chair of the Democratic Party\u2019s National Economic Advisory Council, warns that climate change and demographic shifts are locking South Korea into a \u201cshrinking society\u201d and urges sweeping structural reforms to restore growth.\u201cIn mid\u2011April it was already warm enough to wear short sleeves. In a decade, we may have to start wearing them in March,\u201d Hong told the Seoul Economic Daily in an interview at his private office in Gwanghwamun. \u201cWe must redesign our social systems to fit a shrinking society shaped by the climate crisis and demographic change.\u201dHong built his career at Daewoo Securities, entering through open recruitment and rising to CEO\u2014a trajectory often described as a securities\u2011industry \u201csalaryman\u201d legend. He entered politics as the Democratic Party candidate for Sejong\u2011gap and won a seat in the 2020 general election. In late 2023 he announced he would not seek re\u2011election in the 22nd general election. Since the 21st National Assembly, he has led economic seminars for ruling\u2011party lawmakers, earning the nickname \u201cthe Democratic Party\u2019s economics teacher.\u201d He is also the author of several books analyzing social and economic trends, including Into Deflation (2004), Shrinking Society (2018), and The Stronger Fascism (recent).Hong argues the world shifted from an \u201cexpansion society\u201d to a \u201ccontraction society\u201d after the 2008 global financial crisis. Governments increased debt to steady economies amid excess supply, and the COVID\u201119 pandemic pushed borrowing even higher. \u201cThat ultimately led to higher inflation and deeper social polarization,\u201d he said. \u201cThe U.S. then raised interest rates aggressively to curb inflation, which accelerated the transition to a contraction society.\u201dHe identifies four core problems afflicting South Korea in this environment\u2014inequality, unfairness, uncertainty, and instability\u2014what he calls the \u201cfour no\u2019s.\u201d As low growth becomes entrenched, survival becomes the overriding priority, he warns, and public appetite grows for strong leaders who promise quick fixes\u2014conditions that can fuel the spread of fascism.Hong sees the recent Middle East war as one manifestation of that trend. He says a strain of racism that accompanied fascism around the start of World War II now contributes to the conflict. \u201cIn the past, neighboring Muslim countries tended to attack Israel first. Lately, Israel has been striking first,\u201d he observed, noting Israel\u2019s population of roughly 10 million and the faster population growth in surrounding Muslim states, which increases Israel\u2019s sense of threat. \u201cFormer President Trump aligned with Israel, which shares interests with a core Jewish constituency in the U.S., and moved toward confronting Iran,\u201d he added.As a political remedy, Hong calls for a reinvigoration of democracy. \u201cThe strongest prescription to protect a world heading toward fascism is to strengthen democracy,\u201d he said. \u201cOnly with institutional stability can we undertake social reform and pursue growth strategies to overcome a contraction society.\u201dHe proposes replenishing \u201csocial capital\u201d\u2014the network of trust among members of society. Close cooperation among individuals and groups, he argues, will make democracy function better, sustain economic growth, and increase community resilience.Hong says South Korea urgently needs a national growth model. \u201cWe lack a model that shows what kind of country Korea should aim to be,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause we don\u2019t have an external model to emulate, we must design our own growth strategy.\u201d He contends that the Swedish welfare model once admired by the progressive camp has lost its growth engine, while U.S.\u2011style neoliberalism on the conservative side has produced severe polarization and inequality.Other priorities for structural reform include education reform tailored to the AI era and a reconsideration of the relationship between corporations and society. While working in the securities industry, Hong gained attention for predicting both the 1997 foreign\u2011exchange crisis and the 2008 global financial crisis. \u201cSince the 1990s I\u2019ve focused on structural economic issues and read macro thinkers like Francis Fukuyama and Immanuel Wallerstein closely,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve read Jeremy Rifkin and Yuval Harari in full; each time I read them I\u2019m impressed and think, \u2018I want to write books like this.\u2019\u201dOn his next book, Hong says he will convert the directions laid out in The Stronger Fascism into concrete policy proposals. \u201cI will explain the policies that matter most for changing Korean society,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hong Seong-guk emphasizes the need for social reform in response to climate change and low growth, advocating for democracy and a new growth model.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/thumbnail\/2026\/05\/CP-2023-0094\/thumb-4a1e1ab4-b7a6-4d13-96e1-64c77f5d12f4.jpg","footnotes":""},"categories":[278100],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-262031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social"],"yoast_head":"\n