Blue House Says Reform Efforts to Go On

The Blue House firmly rejected Tuesday calls for President Kim Dae-jung to finish up reform programs under way but take no new initiatives during his remaining time in office.

"Reforms are an inevitable choice for the nation's future," said Blue House spokesman Park Joon-young after a meeting with the President. "They are the reason for the 'government of the people,' and the times call on us to push ahead in earnest with reforms."

The Millennium Democratic Party scrambled to blunt the public relations impact of the Blue House position. Nine party leaders said Monday the president should slow the reform pace. They also questioned whether Mr. Kim was aware of public wariness about the continuing reform efforts. After the Blue House spokesman's comments, MDP Chairman Kim Joong-kwon told reporters what he said the party leadership intended to say Monday.

"In our comments, we did not set out to change the basis of the administration's policies," Mr. Kim said. "Rather, because the basic framework for four major reforms have been laid, the government should work on these reform programs as institutionalized measures to bring about change, not as piecemeal initiatives."

The presidential office's quick response to the party leaders' comments, political analysts said, was aimed at deflecting a challenge to Mr. Kim's authority during the waning days of his administration.

Some rank-and-file Millennium Democrats came down squarely on the president's side Tuesday.

Rep. Chough Soon-hyung, who leads the "Yeouido Jeongdam," a group of first and second-term lawmakers, charged that "to call for wrapping up reform programs is tantamount to calling on the Kim Dae-jung administration to forsake its identity."

The group instead demanded party reforms, including replacing the leadership, in the wake of the party's bad showing in the April 26 elections.

by Kim Jin-kook