President Lee Myung-bak called his administration an ``emergency economic government'' in a New Year address. And Cheong Wa Dae will soon launch a presidential council to oversee economic situations ― complete with a ``war room'' in its underground bunker.
The idea seems to have come from similar systems employed by foreign governments, including Britain, Japan and the United States, especially the Presidential Working Group for the next U.S. leader. When it comes to symbolism, as seen by the location of the provisional council, the Korean government may even beat its foreign counterparts.
One can hardly find fault with such a crisis consciousness itself, particularly at a time when many economists compare the current turmoil to a financial nuclear bomb.
If past experiences here are any guide, however, it is not so certain how long and how effectively the proposed council would be operated. As if to show the government's resolve, it appointed an assistant finance minister to head the war room's staff Wednesday. If it's meant for just a weekly checkup of the economic situation, however, the participants, particularly President Lee as its chairman, will be wasting their precious time.
What matters is the legal binding force of decisions from the meeting, which cannot take effect automatically even if they are from the president himself. For instance, the council has recently decided to raise foreign currency lending ceilings for dollar-hungry businesses and made the announcement through a Cheong Wa Dae spokesman. The first response from the financial regulators, however, was that of displeasure, for unveiling the half-baked plan without detailed consultation with the supervisory agency.
It is for this reason that some onlookers regard the launch of the presidential council as a paradoxical reminder of the poor teamwork and weak line of command within the administration. By most appearances, the ad hoc meeting would serve its purpose best if only it could streamline overlapping administrative domains and prevent a bureaucratic turf war among competing agencies.
Even more important than how it should be operated is ``who'' should run it. President Lee has steadfastly stood by his economic team, led by Finance Minister Kang Man-soo, who has long been the target of criticism, even within the ruling camp. Most surveys also show up to 70 percent of Koreans want to see a change in economic ministers, citing a variety of problems ranging from a foreign exchange rate policy fiasco and failure to discern which industries to bail out and which not to, to numerous slips of the tongue, all of which point to their lack of both sound judgment and fresh ideas.
Korean voters want to see Lee name new and suitable economic ministers, transcending political and ideological differences, which could send local stock markets soaring, as was the case at the New York stock exchange almost every time President-elect Obama named members of his economic team.
President Lee was right when he said he would change cabinet ministers only when it was really necessary, and not just to satisfy public sentiment. It is another matter, though, when almost all the economic players do not have trust in the incumbent officials.
Many Koreans regard the Lunar New Year as the real beginning. They hope the president will follow the views of voters at least by later this month.