This week`s Cabinet shuffle is noticeable for two reasons: the replacement of the economic team and the appointment of President Lee Myung-bak`s close aides to key posts.
The replacement of the economic team could not have come sooner. For months, there had been calls for the resignation of Finance Minster Kang Man-soo for his failure to respond properly to the unfolding economic crisis. Lee, however, chose to stand by his man, turning a deaf ear on numerous calls to dismiss him.
Embarking on the second year of his five-year presidency, Lee chose to start afresh by assembling a new economic team. New Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission Chin Dong-soo, and senior presidential secretary for economic affairs Yoon Jin-shik face the formidable challenge of winning back the trust of the market - trust badly damaged in the past year by the mixed messages and inconsistent policies of Kang`s economic team.
The new officials should also forge ahead with restructuring efforts that seem to have lost steam. Creditor banks, charged with leading the much needed restructuring of the construction and shipbuilding industries, have been less than enthusiastic about removing companies because doing so would add to the banks` non-performing loans. Perhaps it is time for the government to step in to provide guidelines and exercise leadership in restructuring, which is considered vital to country`s economic recovery.
The new personnel would do well to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors. Even as the economic crisis hit, top economic officials were talking about Lee`s election campaign pledge of "747" - 7 percent economic growth, per capital income of $40,000 and becoming the world`s seventh largest economy. Despite the harsh realities, the former economic team continued to chase this rosy dream, resulting in a hodgepodge of economic measures that failed to adequately contain the escalating economic crisis.
Being careful with words is a virtue that the new economic team should strive for. Too often, Lee and his economic officials spoke carelessly, contributing to the lack of credibility that plagued the administration in its first year.
Looking at the roster of new appointments, critics point out that posts have once again been filled with people close to Lee. Several of them hail from the same region or attended the same university.
Even more troubling is the resurrection of a number of key Lee confidants. Lee Joo-ho, the brain behind Lee`s educational reform plan, was named an education vice minister, while Park Young-joon, former presidential secretary for planning and coordination, was appointed to the post of vice minister for government policy in the prime minister`s office. Park resigned last June due to controversy over wielding influence in personnel appointments while Lee Joon-ho resigned after taking responsibility for the candlelight protests against U.S. beef imports.
The latest Cabinet reshuffle is another reminder of the apparent limitations of this administration. Lee was criticized last year for not forming a more inclusive Cabinet - Lee chose to fill the posts with his long-time associates, effectively closing himself off to dissenting voices.
A year later, Lee has chosen to carry out a small-scale Cabinet reshuffle with most of the changes being made at the vice-ministerial level, while leaving many ministerial posts intact. Even with the changes that have been made, it is difficult to find any effort at creating diversity.
In choosing to keep himself surrounded with his close aides and long-time supporters, Lee has lost a valuable channel of communication with the country.
[출처 : 코리아헤럴드]
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