[Editorial] Condition of Reformist President and "Stable" Prime Minister

President-elect Roh Moo-hyun will appoint Goh Kun, a former prime minister and mayor of Seoul, as his first prime minister. As Mr. Roh has put it, the new government will have "the reform-minded president and the stable prime minister." According to his plan, the new president will focus on reform while the prime minister will be in charge of stability of domestic politics. Whether he is a "stable" figure right for the premiership and he has an ethical quality required of a public official will be decided at the National Assembly’s confirmation hearing.

He might have selected a "stable" figure as his first prime minister to alleviate people’s concern about Mr. Roh’s rapid progress in reform efforts. However, a stable prime minister cannot be made only by the prominent career in administration and image of a specific figure. Whether the public feels assured about politics depends on the relationship between the "reform-minded president" and the "stable prime minister."

The President-elect already stressed the importance of a responsible prime minister. This means that as the constitution says, at the order of the president the prime minister will have "real" power to supervise the heads of central administration agencies and be held accountable for them.

Under this system, what matters is that reform and stability function complementing each other. Though reform is impossible without political stability, the "stable" prime minister could end up with just a supporting role for the reformist president given Korea’s political history. If so, lopsided political reform could result in chaos in state administration and other side effects, like in the successive governments.

Therefore, what should be done first is to guarantee the role of a responsible prime minister by preparing a legal device, rather to put emphasis on a "stable" prime minister. And from now on Mr. Roh should consult with the new prime minister in the new government’s policies and personnel matters in order to improve the status of the premiership. Whether the new prime minister can his part is closely related to the new government’s success or not.