By Na Jeong-ju
Staff reporter
The ruling camp is expected to chart a post-election governance strategy to back President Lee Myung-bak's reform drive and prevent him from becoming an early lame duck amid escalating political tensions over his disputed development projects.
Some observers say Lee may conduct a Cabinet reshuffle as early as next month to create momentum for the projects to refurbish four major rivers and transform Sejong City in South Chungcheong Province, originally planned as an administrative town, into an industrial complex.
Lee's plans to reform the military and law-enforcement authorities will also be the focal points as the conservative leader has vowed to bring changes to all sectors of society to make Korea an advanced country.
"Based on our vision of centrist pragmatism, we must put top priority on meeting public needs when implementing new policies," Lee said at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday. "Regardless of the result of the local elections, we should continue our reform drive."
Lee is expected to meet with Rep. Chung Mong-joon, chairman of the governing Grand National Party (GNP), at Cheong Wa Dae this week to discuss the post-election roadmap for political and economic policies.
One of the major concerns among senior officials is to increase the number of middle-income earners and strengthen the social safety net for less privileged citizens, Lee's aides said.
"In the coming weeks, the President will increase meetings with opinion leaders from all social sectors in order to reflect their opinions better in state policies," an aide said, asking not to be named.
"We believe his public approval rating will remain above 40 percent this year thanks to the people-first policies and an economic recovery."
Analysts say the negative public sentiment toward the government's four-river and Sejong City projects will be the biggest challenges Lee must tackle this year.
Some GNP lawmakers have cautioned that Lee may see his administration weaken if he fails to secure broader public support for the state projects.
On May 31, a 47-year-old Buddhist monk was found dead in an apparent self-immolation to protest the river refurbishment project.
In a suicide note, Rev. Moonsu, who belonged to the Korean Buddhist Jogye Order, said, "The Lee administration should abandon the river project immediately. It must root out corruption, and pay more attention to ordinary and less-privileged people, not the rich."
In recent months, scores of Buddhist monks and Catholic nuns have joined environmental groups to hold protests near the four rivers ― the Han, Nakdong, Geum and Yeongsan, claiming that they will destroy the country's ecosystems.
A factional feud inside the ruling party could also deepen over the plan to replace Sejong City with a business hub housing conglomerates, universities and state technology institutes.
Lee's aides have strongly criticized Rep. Park Geun-hye, who leads the second-largest GNP faction, for opposing the revised plan, saying she was acting like an "empress." Park's aides have also responded with insults of their own.
Opinion polls show a majority of Koreans back the government's changes to the project, but public sentiment in the Chungcheong provinces is still negative.
For the time being, Lee is expected to focus on reforming the military, the prosecution and police.
Last month, Lee indicated that he would conduct a sweeping reshuffle of top military personnel and restructuring the country's defense systems, saying the sinking of the Navy vessel Cheonan in March showed why the country needs stronger armed forces.
The President also pledged to overhaul the prosecution and police, saying they have lost the trust of people for a series of corruption scandals.