[Editorial] Is Roh Serious?

It is very worrisome that President Roh Moo-hyun doesn’t seem to recognize the seriousness of the ruling party’s defeat in the most recent local election. A forum with government officials who are in charge of public information in each ministry was held last Friday, in which President Roh said, “The Party’s defeat doesn’t determine the future of this government. It is not that important.” President Roh, who disappointed people by saying right after the election that “even though I accept the outcome of this election as the reflection of nations’ will, the policy direction of this government won’t be changed,” this time, refused to concede the election defeat.

Some ruling party members see the election defeat as a result of Roh administration’s poor performance during its term (three years and three months have been passed). According to a survey conducted by Dong-A Ilbo targeting 37 ruling party members, eight respondents said, “The president should be responsible for the election defeat, while 20 respondents said, “This is the responsibility of both the ruling party and the president.” Despite this, Roh doesn’t accept the party’s defeat and declares he will stick to his current political direction.

Roh’s obstinacy is seriously worrying people, making it difficult to see any improvement in the nation’s policies that have made the people’s livelihood worse.

When people waited for him to make remarks about his responsibility for his party’s election defeat, President Roh, all of a sudden, said, “The political structure, culture, institution, and perception determine the nation’s future.” Even though Roh’s rhetoric to dodge critiques is his infamous strong point, his point that the people’s poor political attitude caused the party’s defeat is completely absurd. Roh is a man who said that “people are president,” and “this is the greatest choice,” when voters elected him as president and the ruling Uri Party gained more than half seats of the National Assembly after Roh’s impeachment scandal hit the entire nation.

Roh seems to make no effort to resolve conflicts that have escalated since his assumption of the presidency, and he has aggravated such conflicts further now. If the president doesn’t concern himself with the outcome of this election, it is almost impossible to see the implementation of any political reform on the basis of people’s intention expressed through this election.

A president who doesn’t consider public sentiment can’t carry out his duty effectively, thereby increasing the cost the nation will pay. Rather than questioning the people’s political level, it is a time to question the capability of the president.