By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter
The floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) Wednesday criticized President Lee Myung-bak for his "bulldozer-like" leadership style.
Rep. Lee Kang-rae said in a speech at the National Assembly that President Lee is on the brink of losing the trust of the people due to his aggressive push for controversial issues.
"President Lee defies public opinion and tries to lecture the people. He often acts like a CEO supervising his subordinates," he said. "His communication with the people has broken down. He speaks without listening and tries to govern the people, instead of serving them." The three-term lawmaker said Lee has shown only the weaknesses, rather than the strengths, of CEO-style leadership.
"President Lee is obsessed with efficiency and materialism, two highly regarded values in the corporate world, because he does not have ethical standards on how to handle state affairs," he said.
He said the President's attempt to revise a plan to construct an administrative town in South Chungcheong Province, called Sejong City, is a good example that illustrates his leadership style.
"That project best illustrates how self-righteous, dogmatic and totalitarian he is," Lee said. "We can't find any trace of consideration when it comes to tackling issues of the capital area's crowdedness or regional impoverishment."
The DP official said that the revision plan will not be able to receive parliamentary approval.
"No matter what the government and ruling party do, it cannot change the number of lawmakers opposed to the administration's proposal," he said. "Therefore, the odds of the revision bill being passed are almost zero."
The floor leader also called for the immediate establishment of a bipartisan committee to review the government's multi-billion dollar project to refurbish four of the country's rivers.
"We have not stopped fighting over the four-river project, even though its budget bill was railroaded in an illegal manner," he said.
The government says that the river project is crucial for economic growth, but critics call it a cover for the President's unpopular plan to build a cross-country canal that he gave up despite the fact it was one of his campaign pledges.
As for judiciary reform, Rep. Lee insisted on establishing a special committee for reforming the prosecution, saying, "Judiciary justice cannot take root in this land without reforming the prosecution."