By Kim Jong-chan
Political Editor
President Lee Myung-bak appears to be a political doctor, unveiling part of his way of thinking about Korean politics. According to his prescription, the political arena has been suffering from three illnesses ― ideological divide, corruption and all-or-nothing political strife.
Lee lamented in his last biweekly radio address that public sentiment is still divided by ideologies and regions; corruption involving those in power repeats itself ceaselessly; and one side unconditionally objects to what the other side says. He diagnosed that a fundamental remedy is needed to cure the ailing politics.
President Lee said he will continue to listen to not only opinions in and out of Cheong Wa Dae but also those reflected in the media and circulated in the market, before presenting a set of steps to revamp politics.
He was responding to recommendations drafted by an ad hoc committee of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) to tide over difficulties facing the ruling camp. They include a reshuffle of Cabinet ministers and senior presidential secretaries and a change in the state management style.
The reaction comes after President Lee's government faced public criticism as supporters of former President Roh Moo-hyun, his predecessor, claimed that the latter took his own life because of what they call a politically motivated investigation into allegations of corruption. Lee took office early last year after a decade of liberal governments.
Lee's remarks were construed by some as a willingness to accept the demand for a reshuffle of officials, and by others as an intention to change his governing style.
The presidential office dismissed the possibility of a Cabinet reshuffle, saying that the President does not see any necessity for replacing some of its members for the sake of tiding over the difficulties facing the governing camp based on a popularism-oriented remedy following Roh's suicide.
One of President Lee's contemplated prescriptions is the replacement of the current electoral system of selecting one lawmaker from each district with a scheme under which two or more lawmakers are picked from a larger constituency, reports say.
If such a larger district is incepted, a DP candidate could have a better chance of being elected from a constituency in the southeastern Gyeongsang provinces, a traditional stronghold of the GNP, and vice versa for a GNP candidate in the southwestern Jeolla region, home turf of the DP.
But a prerequisite for the introduction of mid-size electoral districts is redrawing the century-old administrative units around the country. A government study is underway to redraw the units to boost efficiency.
The change is a must to meet the needs of our communities in this modern, 21st-century digital era featuring improvements in transportation and communication networks.
But replacing the units with larger ones will not happen overnight. First of all, few lawmakers, regardless of party affiliation, will support such reform in an active, positive manner since it could deal a fatal blow to their bid for re-election.
Some sources raised the possibility of Constitutional change. Debate on the revival of a four-year, double-term presidential system is not new. It has been a major source of discussion in the country for a decade. Critics say the current five-year, single-term presidency makes incumbents early lame ducks as well as self-righteous and stubborn.
Another bone of contention is whether the President should share power with the prime minister. In other words, the President takes care of diplomacy and national defense, while the prime minister is in charge of domestic affairs.
After the presidential office said it would not resort to a popularism-oriented remedy such as a Cabinet reshuffle, scores of junior GNP lawmakers came out with three points ― conducting a reshuffle of the Cabinet and presidential secretaries at an early date, implementing Lee's pledge to establish partnership with former GNP Chairwoman Park Geun-hye and resetting state policy goals based on ideology-free pragmatism.
President Lee has yet to clarify his position on these issues. Formerly a long-time business executive, he may believe that if the economy picks up, every thing will go well. A change in his way of thinking, something like a political approach, is needed.