[Editorial] What MOFAT Probes Cannot Achieve for President

The probes by the presidential civil affairs office into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade have left bitter after-taste. That’s because it is now revealed that they were triggered by the controversy over some officials’ problematic remarks on President Roh. The leak of information by a MOFAT official and a press report on the difference in view between the MOFAT and the National Security Council (NSC) were also cited as reasons. However, they appear to be window-dressing reasons for the investigations.

Most of all, the way the presidential office ferreted out those who made the remarks causes concern. While he refused to disclose the detail, Presidential spokesman Yoon Tai-young stopped at saying: “The remarks were too inappropriate to be tolerable. He continued, “We are yet to report this to the president.” Does this imply that the entire incident was as important as we previously believed? The presidential office must clarify whether or not the “problematic remarks were serious enough to prompt investigations into about 10 MOFAT officials.

Of course, civil servants must be cautious in what they say and do. It is the government’s responsibility to enforce official discipline. However, the government must also respond appropriately to inappropriate remarks made by civil servants. If it takes issue with private remarks just because they are about the president, this will be seen as an infringement of freedom of expression.

Recently, a police detective of the special investigations bureau of the National Police Agency was relieved from duty, for his mention of rumors over the president’s private life. If government officials overreacting to remarks about the president in order to quell criticisms over the government by civil servants or to show their unconditional loyalty for him, this will be a serious problem.

The fact that the NSC has played a role in the presidential investigations into the MOFAT is another point of concern. This was not the way to straighten up the dissonant relations between the NSC and the MOFAT. The presidential office should concentrate more on addressing the MOFAT/NSC conflict than disciplining what were basically private remarks.