Post-election revamp

Fundamental change is needed; the sooner, the better

The governing party's stunning setback in the local elections stressed the need for President Lee Myung-bak to overhaul both his personnel and policies. Yet correcting what's gone wrong halfway through the presidency requires unusual wisdom ― and courage. Unfortunately, Lee's nationally-televised address Monday showed he is lacking in both.

President Lee seemed to know what voters wanted: peace instead of war; adherence to the former government's plan to ease congestion in Seoul; and suspend or at least slow down the environmentally-risky dredging of four major rivers.

So he vowed to follow the decision of the National Assembly concerning the new administrative town plan and reflect opponents' views more on the river-restoration projects through better communication with the people. It would have been far better if Lee retracted his revised plan to build an education-science town and drastically scaled down the river-improvement works.

But the President made clear his recalcitrance to give up the signature projects, saying the new business hub is a long-range plan for Korea, while the river works will begin to benefit the nation in just several years, like the Seoul-Busan expressway did decades ago. In other words, he is not accepting the voters' verdict by itself but just trying to avoid the brunt of election backlash by laying lower before resuming them when the atmosphere changes.

If the past two years of governance is any guide, therefore, the governing camp will likely hold a few perfunctory public hearings and focus on good publicity for ``better communication."

Koreans remember too well that the President apologized to the people not just once but twice at the peak of the candle-light vigil two years ago and vowed to better communicate with the public. Two years later when the popular uproar completely subsided, Lee sharply turned around, calling for the people's penitence for the protest.

Government officials say they can never stop the river project as 4 trillion won worth of taxpayer money has already been invested in it. But it is never too late to readjust its tempo and scale, as it would save much more of the 22-trillion won ($19 billion) project.

Most regrettable of all in the address was the government's North Korea policy ― or lack thereof. Calling for a tighter defensive stance, President Lee said, ``There can be no political fight in matters of national security." No one can deny the importance of the security issue, but it defies our understanding why the chief executive should think different policies between different parties as ``political strife," trying to give the people the impression that any opposition to his hard-line, confrontational policy would be harmful for the nation.

One of the unmistakable lessons from the June 2 elections was people's uneasiness ― nearly fear ― of the Lee administration's pressuring of North Korea, unaccompanied by corresponding defense preparedness, as the sinking of the warship Cheonan demonstrated. Little wonder Lee stopped short of making even a fleeting comment on the 10th anniversary of the first inter-Korean summit today.

What's really needed now is not a political gesture but a genuinely fundamental change. Nothing less can ensure the safety and prosperity of not just the administration but the nation.