(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on Feb. 13)

Talk with each other

The war of words raging between the Blue House and former Grand National Party
Chairwoman Park Geun-hye is a waste of energy that would be better spent on
resolving the real issue at hand -- the Sejong City plan.

President Lee Myung-bak, speaking after a briefing by North Jeolla Province
officials Wednesday, said that he wanted to "push and support" those who work
well. He also said that a well-run family, even in midst of a fight, would unite
to fend off a thief before resuming their fight.
The next morning, stopped by reporters on her way to a National Assembly session,
Park said that the people will be the judge of who works well. On Lee's comment
about a thief, Park said, "What do you do if a person in the family changes his
mind and suddenly becomes a thief?"
Park's first remark was made on the assumption that Lee's comment the previous
day was about a possible successor. The second remark could easily be construed
as an attack on Lee - the Lee administration is pushing for a revision of the
original Sejong administrative city plan, a plan which the GNP, as an opposition
party, helped pass during the Roh Moo-hyun administration.
In response, the Blue House said that Lee's comments in North Jeolla Province
were not aimed at Park. Blue House spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said that Lee made
the remarks as a call for the people to unite to overcome the challenges faced by
the country.
In the afternoon, the Blue House chief spokesperson Lee Dong-gwan dropped by the
press room to explain Lee's statements. He said that the remarks were not aimed
at anyone in particular. The comment on "people who work well" was made as an
encouragement to the leaders of local autonomous governments. As for the thief
remark, the spokesperson said it was an anecdote frequently used by the president
to point out the need for reconciliation.
This was followed by a press briefing by Park's spokesperson. Park's remarks were
not pointed at anyone in particular, he said. A pro-Park GNP legislator who was
present at the briefing in North Jeolla Province had reportedly met with Park and
explained that Lee's comments did not appear to have been directed at Park.
The battle of words seemed to have settled down when, on Thursday morning, the
Blue House suddenly changed its approach and called on Park to formally apologize
for her comments. Blue House spokesperson Lee also took issue with the media
reports concerning the exchange between Park and the Blue House. The Park camp
said that it would not apologize.
The gulf between Lee and Park seems to be growing wider than ever, with the
latest incident putting further distance between the two. The lack of
communication between the two sides has been pointed out as a major obstacle for
this administration. The bill calling for the revision of the original Sejong
administrative city law is not even being discussed within the GNP because of the
Park faction's resolute resistance to it.
This week's exchange of verbal salvos shows how statements taken out of context
and heard through third parties can lead to misunderstandings. It really is high
time that Lee and Park started talking to each other directly -- not through
spokespersons or remarks to the media. Only then can the process of "uniting to
fend off a thief" begin.
(END)

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