ed Crippled executive branch
President Park holds key to current deadlock
President Park Geun-hye indicated Wednesday that she wouldn’t back down from her stance over the deadlock at the National Assembly in approving a package of bills to restructure the government.
Presiding over the first meeting of senior presidential secretaries, she expressed concern about local politics that hamper state affairs, referring to the absence of her national security chief because of the deadlocked bills. Her remarks were taken as meaning that she won’t make concessions in her belief that the opposition’s argument is far from true.
Against this backdrop, state affairs are adrift amid speculation that this abnormal situation ― there is a prime minister but no other minister, even after the new administration has been launched ― will last until mid-March. Until then, the new head of state will have to "cohabit’’ awkwardly with ministers appointed by her predecessor to deal with pressing bills.
The weekly Cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday was called off and Rep. Chung Mong-joon of the ruling Saenuri Party even said the nation was virtually in a state of anarchy. It’s shameful that Park had to take office while the government reorganization bills were still pending at the National Assembly for the first time in the nation’s constitutional history.
As this page noted earlier, the bone of contention ― which agency should take charge of promoting Internet, satellite and cable broadcasting ― is never serious enough to derail the smooth launch of a new administration.
Aside from concern over the passage of the restructuring bills, a growing number of people ― supporters and opponents alike ― are beginning to look at the nascent administration warily amid speculation that several ministers-designate may fail to pass confirmation hearings that began Wednesday, due largely to ethical lapses.
Both the ruling and opposition parties deserve criticism for being overly preoccupied with partisan politics without thinking about their commitment to new politics during the December presidential election.
The Saenuri Party should be ashamed of having been sidelined from Park’s formulation of the government restructuring blueprint. It’s disappointing that the governing party is ready to carry out the duty of passing bills at the legislature without even attempting to persuade the first female President otherwise. The opposition Democratic United Party can’t avoid criticism either, given that the authenticity of its argument that the restructuring bills must be revised to ensure the independence and fairness of broadcasters is questionable.
No one other than the President herself should bear the brunt of the criticism, but it’s also Park who holds the key to the current stalemate. Rather, this might be a good time for Park to shed her image of being uncommunicative, self-righteous and stubborn. She needs to show flexibility over political matters and sincerely embrace the opposition as her partner in state affairs.