ID :
191216
Mon, 06/27/2011 - 02:21
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/191216
The shortlink copeid
Rotten all over : President must stake all on cleaning up officialdom
The government has declared all-out war against corruption. Come July 1, it will drastically toughen inspections of high-ranking officials, rate the integrity of major agencies down to bureau levels, and better protect whistleblowers.
Will these measures make civil servants experience winter in the height of summer, as President Lee Myung-bak might hope? Hardly. Most officials would think it little more than another political wind that blows toward the end of every administration, to firm up its grip on bureaucrats and/or prepare for the next election.
And they have at least a few more reasons to believe so this time around. Voters elected President Lee three and a half years ago despite his somewhat tainted image, as their desire for economic well-being far outweighed this and other shortcomings. Yet even Lee???s supporters are now surprised that the number of government employees disciplined for corruption has risen 5.5 times over the past four years.
Even more astonishing was President Lee???s response to this pitiable situation. Meeting with Cabinet ministers and vice ministers recently, Lee lambasted corruption in the officialdom, saying, ``The whole nation appears to be corrupt. It???s rotten all over.??? The President???s fury is understandable, but shouldn???t he have first shown some self-reflection and at least some moral responsibility as the chief executive? He never did so. Does Lee think himself as some critic or an observer?
As in dealing with most other problems, Lee then attributed the rampant corruption to his predecessors. ``Officials??? irregularities are not peculiar to this administration,??? he said. The President was insinuating the sharp increase in officials??? corruption was due to enhanced inspection under his ``fair society??? slogan.
True, government employees??? corruption has deep roots in this country long ruled by elite bureaucrats. But even history and tradition alone cannot explain 5.5-times more corruption in little more than three years.
One can instead find a key in Lee???s personnel appointment. Starting with the formation of his first Cabinet, the President was embroiled in controversy for picking officials whose moral standards were particularly dubious. He designated those who have dodged tax payments, plagiarized others??? theses, faked residential records for property speculation and snatched state subsidies with the pretense of absentee farmers ??? mainly because they were from the same region, graduated from the same school or attended the same church as the President.
Can these Cabinet ministers and vice ministers demand integrity and honesty from lower-level officials who were jeering their superiors? It is small surprise that at a recent Cabinet meeting some ministers all but turned down a proposal by Kim Young-ran, chairwoman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), to make public the names of officials who make personal requests to public prosecutors and state auditors, under the pretext of ``difficulties in differentiating civil petitions from requests for special favors.??? What is the face value of the Cabinet if they cannot tell apart petitions from privileges?
Almost all Korean presidents have lived unhappy, or tragic in some cases, post-retirement days because of their own corruption or that of their family members. Fortunately, President Lee is free from scandals involving his most intimate ones. At least there are no known cases so far. That should come as cold comfort for the President and voters, however, as corruption has already spread to his closest aides at Cheong Wa Dae.
There are a number of tasks Lee should tackle during the remaining one a half years in office, including the creation of future growth engines, better public welfare and improving inter-Korean relations.
No less important, or even more urgent, than these matters is to root out corruption from this society, without which the nation cannot expect to stand firm much longer, let alone jump to the rank of industrial ones. Fifteen months can be longer than expected to prove a conservative administration should not necessarily go down because of corruption.
A good starting place is to accept the ACRC head???s proposal and legislate the ``Kim Young-ran Law.
Will these measures make civil servants experience winter in the height of summer, as President Lee Myung-bak might hope? Hardly. Most officials would think it little more than another political wind that blows toward the end of every administration, to firm up its grip on bureaucrats and/or prepare for the next election.
And they have at least a few more reasons to believe so this time around. Voters elected President Lee three and a half years ago despite his somewhat tainted image, as their desire for economic well-being far outweighed this and other shortcomings. Yet even Lee???s supporters are now surprised that the number of government employees disciplined for corruption has risen 5.5 times over the past four years.
Even more astonishing was President Lee???s response to this pitiable situation. Meeting with Cabinet ministers and vice ministers recently, Lee lambasted corruption in the officialdom, saying, ``The whole nation appears to be corrupt. It???s rotten all over.??? The President???s fury is understandable, but shouldn???t he have first shown some self-reflection and at least some moral responsibility as the chief executive? He never did so. Does Lee think himself as some critic or an observer?
As in dealing with most other problems, Lee then attributed the rampant corruption to his predecessors. ``Officials??? irregularities are not peculiar to this administration,??? he said. The President was insinuating the sharp increase in officials??? corruption was due to enhanced inspection under his ``fair society??? slogan.
True, government employees??? corruption has deep roots in this country long ruled by elite bureaucrats. But even history and tradition alone cannot explain 5.5-times more corruption in little more than three years.
One can instead find a key in Lee???s personnel appointment. Starting with the formation of his first Cabinet, the President was embroiled in controversy for picking officials whose moral standards were particularly dubious. He designated those who have dodged tax payments, plagiarized others??? theses, faked residential records for property speculation and snatched state subsidies with the pretense of absentee farmers ??? mainly because they were from the same region, graduated from the same school or attended the same church as the President.
Can these Cabinet ministers and vice ministers demand integrity and honesty from lower-level officials who were jeering their superiors? It is small surprise that at a recent Cabinet meeting some ministers all but turned down a proposal by Kim Young-ran, chairwoman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), to make public the names of officials who make personal requests to public prosecutors and state auditors, under the pretext of ``difficulties in differentiating civil petitions from requests for special favors.??? What is the face value of the Cabinet if they cannot tell apart petitions from privileges?
Almost all Korean presidents have lived unhappy, or tragic in some cases, post-retirement days because of their own corruption or that of their family members. Fortunately, President Lee is free from scandals involving his most intimate ones. At least there are no known cases so far. That should come as cold comfort for the President and voters, however, as corruption has already spread to his closest aides at Cheong Wa Dae.
There are a number of tasks Lee should tackle during the remaining one a half years in office, including the creation of future growth engines, better public welfare and improving inter-Korean relations.
No less important, or even more urgent, than these matters is to root out corruption from this society, without which the nation cannot expect to stand firm much longer, let alone jump to the rank of industrial ones. Fifteen months can be longer than expected to prove a conservative administration should not necessarily go down because of corruption.
A good starting place is to accept the ACRC head???s proposal and legislate the ``Kim Young-ran Law.
