(EDITORIAL from the Korea Times on June 17)

Real Reform Remote: Fundamental Remedy Lies in Change of Lee's Thoughts

It is good news President Lee Myung-bak finally seems to be showing some
responses to nationwide calls for a change. The bad news is, one can find
distressingly little meaning in Lee's belated reactions other than he has begun
to pay attention to simmering social turmoil ??? if reluctantly.

In a biweekly radio address, President Lee all but categorized mounting popular
opposition to him and his government as motivated by regional, ideological and
political antipathy. We can hardly disagree more: The governing Grand National
Party suffered crushing defeats at all five precincts, including his own
Gyeongsang districts, in recent by-elections; many conservatives ??? those with
some common sense of course ??? are also calling for reform; and even some GNP
lawmakers are saying ``we have no future" unless Cheong Wa Dae is renewed.
Lee, a devout believer, needs to look no further than the ongoing spread of
rallies protesting against his misrule to the religious circles. The number of
monks, ministers and priests who signed the denunciatory statements has doubled
even that of the 1987 democracy uprising. These religious leaders cited different
sages but what they called for, in one voice, were the same: more respect of the
people, better care of the weak and poor, and governance based on two-way
communication.
The President stopped short of explaining what he meant by his ``fundamental
remedy.'' Remedies can be worse than disease, however, if the diagnosis is wrong.
Considering such mistaken perception is based on wrong information, Lee should
replace his aides and Cabinet members first, starting with those who reported to
him the number of academic signatories accounts for only one tenth of the total
number of university professors. Also to be dismissed are the officials who
reported up to 70 percent of tax cut benefits went to the mid- to low-income
people, while the government's own statistics tell the opposite.
Yet, personnel reshuffle, however wide in scope it may be, cannot be a basic
solution as long as it remains a swap of one group of yes-men with another. Nor
would it have much meaning if Lee admits some followers of his in-house rival,
Rep. Park Geun-hye, into Cheong Wa Dae or his Cabinet beyond cementing GNP unity.
A Cabinet supported by the entire nation should include at least some progressive
politicians, though that is highly unlikely.
The beleaguered leader might also consider institutional reform, including the
delegation of some of his power, mainly related with domestic affairs, to the
prime minister. However, this has been tried and failed by former President Kim
Young-sam with the then Prime Minister Lee Hoi-chang, due in large part to Kim's
adherence to an ``imperial'' presidency and Lee's ``revolt'' to it.
A "relatively more fundamental'' solution could be found in the revision of the
Constitution, including the changes in presidential and parliamentary election
systems. Again, however, these are time- and energy-consuming tasks, the study of
which Lee must not use as a pretext for doing nothing.
The easiest solution ??? whether Lee acknowledges or even knows it or not ??? is
for the President to change his own mind and thoughts. He can start this by
devoting just one tenth of his Bible reading time to reading the Constitution ???
between the lines. Then he would be able to know how the "rule of law'' ??? which
seeks justice, humanity and freedom ??? should differ from the "rule of
legislation,'' coercing social order (or obedience) by strong-armed enforcement
of law.
(END)