By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) urged President Lee Myung-bak to mend his ``pragmatic diplomacy,'' Tuesday, citing Japan's claim to the South Korean islets of Dokdo in the East Sea.
``For successful embodiment of pragmatism, pursuit of national interest regardless of ideological quarrels should come first. But pragmatism is becoming another word for opportunism for the Lee government,'' Rep. Won Hye-young, floor leader of the DP, said in a speech at the National Assembly.
Listing recent incidents, he claimed now is time for Lee to modify his pragmatic diplomacy.
Lee, a former CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction, had indicated even before taking office in February that he would focus on reinvigorating the economy and consolidating relations with other countries based on practicality.
He has called for better ties with Japan and agreed with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in Tokyo in April to resume summits twice per year, which were suspended three years ago.
His pragmatic diplomacy, however, faces mounting criticism as the Japanese government announced Monday that it will define Dokdo as its territory in an educational guidebook.
The islands have been an irritant in the bilateral relations over decades but it is first time that the Japanese government included the territorial claim in such guidelines.
The conservative Lee vowed a tougher stance toward North Korea, stressing that denuclearization should come prior to any inter-Korean cooperation.
Yet, his harder-line policy leveraged frozen ties with the Stalinist state and the situation became worse after a South Korean tourist was killed by a North Korean soldier last Friday.
Noting the atmosphere on the Korean Peninsula as similar to that of the Cold War era, the DP floor leader called for reconciliation between the two Koreas and promoting inter-Korean economic cooperation.
Chairman Park Hee-tae of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) responded that the hotline between the two Koreas established by previous governments has proven to be useless, pointing to the shooting.
Won, meanwhile, said an overhaul of the Lee administration was necessary to take responsibility for the difficult economic situation facing the nation.
``To revive the economy, the government must signal that it will change its faulty economy policy,'' Won said. ``What the people and the market are waiting for is complete replacement of economy-related Cabinet ministers.''
The government recently cut this year's growth forecast to 4.7 percent, well below its earlier target of 6 percent, while inflation hit 5.5 percent last month.