Fundamental Limitation
Chronic Appointment Fiasco Is Rooted in Structural Reasons
When President Lee Myung-bak nominated Chun Sung-gwan as the new prosecutor general, the chief executive boasted he even had never met his nominee. Yes, the nomination deserved some self-praises in a country where almost all major appointments are made in personal, regional and academic considerations, as Chun was from different region and school from Lee's own.
Cheong Wa Dae described the selection of the relatively young prosecutor for the top post as ``exceptional, reform-minded and regionally balanced.'' The Blue House didn't elaborate further, but there were rumors that a ``secretive'' Presidential advisor recommended Chun, citing his strong anti-Communist career and his resolute (read: ruthless) enforcement of the law in dealing with the death of five squatters during the police crackdown on their protest against a redevelopment project six months ago.
As it turned out this week, the rumors seemed to be right, because we can find few other reasons the official ― whose records are so full of outright violations of laws, shady financial deals and even some lies about his own acts ― should lead the nation's top law enforcement agency.
To sum up, although Lee had never seen him before, Chun's qualifications could have been perfect for the President, who seemed to be looking for someone who can ― and will ― do everything to his appointer's liking while having no direct personal connections.
And this top-down personnel administration is why we think both the withdrawal of Chun himself and the resignation of the Cheong Wa Dae secretary responsible for vetting presidential nominees might be necessary but not sufficient conditions for solving the chronic problem of appointment fiasco that has dogged this administration from the very moment it took office.
Also exposed to the broad daylight by the latest nomination scandal is the President's ― and the entire governing camp's for that matter ― dualistic concept about what is people-friendly, or in a plainer term, their two-facedness in dealing with the public.
At the confirmation hearing, some governing Grand National Party lawmakers defended Chun as a ``frugal, clean-handed official.'' More stunning was that these legislators did so even after learning the 52-year-old senior prosecutor, with personal assets of about $1 million, bought an apartment twice as expensive by borrowing money from some business executive he ``only met once in a while.'' His family's living expense always far exceeded Chun's salary with his wife driving a luxury sedan on someone else's leasing contract costing nearly $1,300 in monthly fees.
President Lee himself took issue more with Chun's lying about overseas golfing apparently financed by his ``sponsor'' rather than the tour itself.
If such were the President's and his party's standards about integrity of public officials, nothing can ring more hollow than their slogans of ``noblesse oblige" and the ``worker-friendly administration," even causing suspicions that the ruling elite have two different standards ― one for the public and the other for their inner circle.
To confirm the veracity of these concerns, one has only to watch whether the President's future appointments will cause similar controversies or not. We are forced to bet on the former, while hoping we will prove to be wrong.