In an emotion-charged speech against corruption, President Lee Myung-bak called for a sweeping overhaul of the way the government works, imploring top officials Friday to end long-ingrained irregularities in officialdom.
Speaking at a brainstorming meeting that brought together all Cabinet ministers, vice ministers and other top officials, Lee expressed deep frustrations about the bureaucracy, reproaching officials in a harsh tone for working like they were in the 1980s.
Lee even singled out some government agencies and criticized them, including police and the prosecution which he said are bickering over investigative rights and the education ministry struggling how to handle the growing calls for halving college tuition fees, a demand that he said is unrealistic.
The comment on the college tuition issue was the strongest that Lee has made yet on the issue, though he said earlier this week that the matter should be studied carefully because wrong policies requiring an enormous budget could be devastating to the country.
Lee's half-an-hour speech suggests that a massive clean-up drive is in the works in the wake of a series of revelations of corruption cases involving government officials that has dealt a blow to Lee's "fair society" campaign.
"Other countries treat us as an advanced nation, but public officials of that nation have continued to stick to the way they worked in the 'Three Kim' era," Lee told the meeting, referring to the 1980s when South Korean politics was dominated by three heavyweight politicians, Kim Young-sam, Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-pil.
Lee condemned such practices as government officials twisting the arms of private firms under their supervision to wine and dine them. Such practices were tolerated in the past, but not any longer, Lee said. Similar cases were recently uncovered, angering the public.
"It is not that corruption and irregularities are particularly strong in this administration, but they have existed from 10 or 20 years ago," Lee said. "Now is the time to clean them up and move on to the next stage."
In a meeting with social elders earlier in the day, Lee also said he would fight corruption "until the eve of my term."
"If I had no intentions to deal with this sternly, I wouldn't have even started it," Lee said, according to senior presidential spokesman Kim Du-woo. "I am firmly determined that I will do what I should until the eve of my term."
The two-day brainstorming meeting was organized to discuss revitalizing small businesses and boosting domestic demand as a way of improving the economic situation of the mid- and lower-income classes. The conference also plans to discuss ways to tighten discipline among bureaucrats.
Boosting the livelihood of mid- and lower-income people and fighting corruption are on Lee's main policy agenda for his fourth and second-to-last year in office because ordinary people perceive the fruits of the country's economic growth to be out of their reach.
Lee, a former construction CEO, took office in early 2008 on a wave of hope that he would boost South Korea's economy. But the 2008 global financial meltdown set back his economic agenda, though the country recovered from the financial crisis earlier than others.
Despite good showings in major economic indicators, ordinary people have long complained of the country's persistent economic slump and difficulties in making ends meet. Critics say such perceptions led in part to the ruling Grand National Party's humiliating defeat in April's by-elections.
The stunning defeat led the ruling party to devise a series of populist measures to woo voters back ahead of next year's crucial parliamentary and presidential elections, including proposals to drastically slash high college tuition fees and withdraw tax cuts for conglomerates.
Friday's opening session focused on how to boost domestic demand, enliven traditional markets and help small- and medium-sized firms expand sales and create more jobs. The evening session will be about boosting medical tours and other tourism projects, the presidential office said in a release.
The finance and culture ministries planned to report at the meeting that they will consider temporarily halting financial compensation for unused vacation days at government offices and public firms to encourage more workers to take vacation and spur tourism and domestic demand, officials said.
Other proposals include scattering vacation periods at elementary, middle and high schools, instead of all schools having vacation periods around the same time, in order to keep domestic demand high for a longer period of time, the officials said.
The government-wide conference is also an opportunity to strengthen the bond among top officials after a series of personnel reshuffles in recent months. A total of 88 top officials will attend the meeting, including Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, all heads of government ministries, their deputies and senior presidential secretaries.
(Yonhap News)
