ID :
27607
Fri, 10/31/2008 - 00:09
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/27607
The shortlink copeid
Lee reluctant to replace finance minister
By Yoo Cheong-mo
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday praised Finance
Minister Kang Man-soo for playing a key role in concluding a US$30 billion
currency swap deal with the U.S., indirectly snubbing opposition parties'
consistent demands for his immediate dismissal.
"Minister Kang seems to have carried out a successful negotiation with the U.S.
treasury secretary and the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board," Lee said,
commenting on the landmark South Korea-U.S. currency swap deal during his meeting
with members of a national competitiveness committee.
Kang, a long-time friend and economic adviser to Lee, has come under mounting
criticism for what opposition parties and investors claim is a string of
inconsistent policies and misguided remedies for currency market instability.
The main opposition Democratic Party and other minor parties have persistently
demanded that President Lee replace Minister Kang and revive the post of an
economic deputy prime minister, who would double as finance minister to create a
strong policymaking control tower, particularly in times of economic difficulty.
Even some lawmakers of Lee's ruling Grand National Party are advocating for the
dismissal of Kang and the revival of the post of an economic deputy prime
minister, who managed the South Korean economy decades ago.
In a separate meeting with local economic editors, however, Lee displayed his
negative view on reviving the post.
"Some media contend that the nation is in need of an economic deputy prime
minister. But most advanced countries don't have such a post," the president said
in the meeting with senior journalists.
"The post of an economic policy control tower can be only feasible in the case of
a small-sized economy. It rather belongs to the past, when the nation's president
used to wield dictatorial power ... At a complicated time like this, government
policies should be finalized through discussions among economic ministers," said
Lee.
ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday praised Finance
Minister Kang Man-soo for playing a key role in concluding a US$30 billion
currency swap deal with the U.S., indirectly snubbing opposition parties'
consistent demands for his immediate dismissal.
"Minister Kang seems to have carried out a successful negotiation with the U.S.
treasury secretary and the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board," Lee said,
commenting on the landmark South Korea-U.S. currency swap deal during his meeting
with members of a national competitiveness committee.
Kang, a long-time friend and economic adviser to Lee, has come under mounting
criticism for what opposition parties and investors claim is a string of
inconsistent policies and misguided remedies for currency market instability.
The main opposition Democratic Party and other minor parties have persistently
demanded that President Lee replace Minister Kang and revive the post of an
economic deputy prime minister, who would double as finance minister to create a
strong policymaking control tower, particularly in times of economic difficulty.
Even some lawmakers of Lee's ruling Grand National Party are advocating for the
dismissal of Kang and the revival of the post of an economic deputy prime
minister, who managed the South Korean economy decades ago.
In a separate meeting with local economic editors, however, Lee displayed his
negative view on reviving the post.
"Some media contend that the nation is in need of an economic deputy prime
minister. But most advanced countries don't have such a post," the president said
in the meeting with senior journalists.
"The post of an economic policy control tower can be only feasible in the case of
a small-sized economy. It rather belongs to the past, when the nation's president
used to wield dictatorial power ... At a complicated time like this, government
policies should be finalized through discussions among economic ministers," said
Lee.
ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)
