(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on Nov. 29)

'Wartime Cabinet'

President Lee Myung-bak made intriguing remarks earlier in the week. On one
occasion, he said he would not pay much attention to his popularity ratings.
Instead, he said he would devote himself to consolidating the nation's
foundations as a means of fighting the economic crisis.

But how could Lee remain stoical about his dismally low approval ratings at a
time when he desperately needs to build public support? New fiscal, tax and other
policies his administration has crafted to mitigate the impact of the global
financial crisis demand full backing from the public, and all the more so because
they are in the process of legislation.
On another occasion, Lee appeared to be rejecting the idea of reshuffling his
Cabinet under any circumstances when he said, "I would replace Cabinet members
everyday if it served the national interests." But in no time, he added that he
was not saying "I will not replace certain persons that need replacing."
Was he saying he would dismiss some Cabinet members deemed to be incompetent, as
previously recommended by some leaders of his party? Or, was he denying any such
possibility, as he had done? No one should be blamed for complaining aloud about
Lee's perplexing remarks.
No matter what he meant to say, a sweeping change to his Cabinet merits serious
consideration. The reason is that many Cabinet members, in particular those in
charge of economic affairs, who were selected to pursue Lee's goal of promoting
growth, may not be suitable for the job of restoring stability in the face of a
deepening financial crisis.
In addition, Lee's economic team has already proven its incompetence. In
announcing the second-half economic outlook in July, the Lee administration said
it would siphon off excess liquidity from the market to curb prices. That proved
to be the wrong prescription when a credit crunch started to develop as the
unraveling of the U.S. mortgage market was undermining the survival of leading
investment banks and other global financial giants.
Another serious problem is a lack of cooperation among government agencies. One
example is that the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Korea - which had reportedly
conducted separate negotiations on currency swaps with the United States - each
claimed credit when the accord was announced on Oct. 30. The ministry and the
central bank clashed again over how much would be put into a fund designed to
stabilize the bond market.
It was proven again that teamwork was a rare commodity when the administration
submitted to the National Assembly a motion on a capital injection into Korea
Development Bank. At the time, the Finance Ministry said it was inevitable to
delay the bank's privatization. But then the Financial Services Commission
mistakenly promised that privatization would proceed as scheduled.
Coordination is also missing among the presidential office, the Cabinet and the
ruling Grand National Party. The presidential office and the ruling party were at
loggerheads over the proposed Cabinet change while the ruling party had a divided
opinion on the administration's tax-cut initiative and proposal for business
deregulation in Seoul.
No wonder Lee's approval ratings are slightly higher than 20 percent, well below
those of former Presidents Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung, which were 59.1
percent and 62.8 percent, respectively, in December of their first year in
office.
The first step Lee needs to take in restoring public confidence in his leadership
is to surround himself with figures held in high esteem; people with proven
records of expertise, regardless of their political affiliations, should be
brought into his Cabinet at this time of national crisis. The current crisis
demands nothing short of a "wartime Cabinet" that is capable of making bold,
coherent and strategic decisions.
(END)