By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
The town hall meeting, Tuesday, lasted just 100 minutes but President Lee Myung-bak and his presidential staff spent more than two weeks in preparing for it.
Cheong Wa Dae originally planned to invite Beijing Olympics weightlifting gold medalist Jang Mi-ran to the meeting and offer her a chance to ask questions, but eventually dropped the idea out of concerns on unnecessary disputes over her appearance.
KBS, which selected panelists for the meeting in cooperation with the presidential office, also opposed the plan, saying including Jang could draw criticism that Lee was trying to use sports stars to create a better public image.
The office set up a task force comprising presidential secretaries with journalism backgrounds, immediately after Lee decided to hold the meeting.
Some secretaries requested Lee to delay the meeting, citing his low public approval rating and growing anger among Buddhists over the government's alleged religious discrimination.
But Lee decided to bite the bullet as he thought it was an opportunity to clarify his position on current topics and come closer to the public, Lee's aides said.
On Monday, Lee held a four-hour rehearsal at his office and practiced answering expected questions, according to his aides. The President had a quick lunch Tuesday to have more time preparing the meeting.
``During the rehearsal, secretaries played the role of panelists and asked Lee questions. Sometimes, they asked embarrassing questions and advised him on how to behave in such a situation,'' a Cheong Wa Dae official said.
The choice of panelists and questions was up to KBS.
When the list of panelists was delivered to the presidential office, some secretaries expressed concern that there were too many left-leaning figures. They proposed Cheong Wa Dae ask KBS to change the panelists, cautioning that the discussion could be disrupted by ideology, the official said.
``However, the office had little to say in the selection of panelists and questions. All decisions regarding the selection were made by KBS,'' he said.