What did President Lee Myung-bak did after offering a live broadcast of public apology for the reversal of administrative town plan Saturday night?
Lee went straight to drink ``makgeolli,'' together with his aides, TV staff and panel members in a charm offensive to earn their hearts and minds, according to Yonhap.
Lee may have learned the trick from Prime Minister Chung Woon-chan, who one week ago went out on a hiking with small business owners and drank makgeolli on a hilltop to build rapport with them.
Makgeolli, the pale white drink, favored by low-income people for its affordable price, is increasingly becoming a favorite "WMD" (weapons of mass destruction) for savvy politicians to destroy the psychological defense of people and earn their support.
In the one-hour makgeolli session, with multiple toasts of "Cheers!", Lee said: "I did my best to try to make myself understood.
"I hope it was an opportunity for people to understand my true heat and my policy," he said, referring to his determination of revising the previous government's initiative to build an administrative town in Sejong City in southern Chungcheong Province.
Lee also used the makgeolli occasion to mend ties with MBC, the host broadcaster of his live town hall meeting with which he had some sour relationship for its often critical posture on the Lee administration. Again, he used makgeolli to initiate the thaw: "For our country! And for MBC!" he said as he proposed a toast.
The president's rare makgeolli session drew keen media attention. As of 6 p.m. on Saturday, the news was ranked the top news of the day in major news web sites.
Bloggers were divided in their views. Overall, however, they paid more attention to the substance of his talk, rather than the media-pitched makgeolli coverage.
Some praised Lee for "biting the bullet" to clarify his position on the disputed issue. "I am supporting Lee 100 percent," said Jang Kyu-jin, on the web site run by JoongAng Ilbo.
Another blogger Bae Geun-han said: "Lee's comments on the TV last night lacked a genuine character. It appeared that he just read out from the script, prepared by his aides. We still need to wait and see."