President Lee Myung-bak returned to work from his summer vacation Thursday. Now, the first thing he should do is to change his Cabinet and presidential staff lineup. Therefore, people are paying keen attention to how Lee will conduct a reshuffle aimed at improving his management of state affairs and regaining public confidence in his administration.
Expectations are growing over a reshuffle that may come as early as mid-August. Lee is to present new policy directions on major issues, including strained inter-Korean relations and ways of speeding up economic recovery, in his speech to mark the Aug. 15 National Liberation Day.
The busy political timetable calls for the reshuffle to happen by the end of this month. A plenary session of the National Assembly is to begin early next month. And parliamentary by-elections are scheduled for October. Thus, it is high time for Lee to change the lineup of ministers and aides. It seems that Lee can no longer delay the reshuffle in a bid to tighten his grip on power and better exercise his leadership.
Lee has often turned down demands for a Cabinet reshuffle both from governing and opposition parties, saying that he would not conduct a reshuffle only to turn the tables in a political stalemate. It is true that only replacing some ministers cannot solve all the problems Lee and his administration face. As he noted several times, such a reshuffle can be only seen as a sugarcoated ploy frequently used by autocratic rulers in the 1970s-80s.
It would be better for Lee not to employ such a ploy. Instead, he should conduct a large-scale Cabinet reshuffle to chart a new course of action to better lead the nation. For this, the President is required to pick competent and faithful figures as ministers who are able to work toward social integration and national harmony.
It is urgent for Lee to heal the wounds from political polarization, partisan struggles, ever-intensifying conflicts between conservatives and progressives, and a widening gap between the rich and the poor. Lee suffered a political setback from his mishandling of the U.S. beef import issue last summer, which prompted candlelight rallies against the government.
He has also been blamed for his hard-line North Korea policy that led to Pyongyang's suspension of all inter-Korean talks. The North's nuclear test and launch of long-range missiles early this year have aggravated South-North relations. The Lee administration is under criticism for doing little to secure the release of a South Korean worker who was detained by the North Korean authorities at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.
In this situation, a much-sought change of the Cabinet lineup is likely to serve as a turning point for Lee and his administration. But Lee should refrain from selecting his henchmen as ministers. He also needs to be more careful in accepting demands from the governing Grand National Party (GNP) that three or four lawmakers of the party be named ministers. The possible appointment of lawmakers and politicians might deepen a partisan struggle and a factional strife in the party and the administration.
How about forming a coalition Cabinet by appointing opposition figures? It could be one of the ways to end political confrontations with the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and other splinter parties. We hope President Lee will soon have a new Cabinet, which can better communicate with people, promote social cohesion and national reconciliation, and help the country get out the economic crisis.