[EDITORIALS]The Drought Is No Excuse

The announcement of the presidential reform plan for state affairs, including operational and personnel changes in the ruling party and the administration, is postponed indefinitely. "In order to exert all efforts to overcome damage caused by the long drought, President Kim Dae-jung has decided to postpone the press conference for some time," a Blue House spokesman explained, without mentioning when the reset press conference will be. Although dealing with the drought is an important national task, the people have been waiting half a year for the reform of national governance.

We understand that the entire nation suffers from a serious drought, and that measures to minimize the damage and raise funds have been carried out. We also understand that the government and both ruling and opposition parties should cooperate to overcome the national disaster. Yet the president should not ignore the people's demands for government reform. It is unfortunate if the leadership of the ruling party has already forgotten that its junior lawmakers' reform demands reflected the people's will, not the outcry of impetuous youth. Immediate pain cannot justify the avoidance or postponement of reform. Conditions requiring reform are not resolved by distracting the people's attention.

President Kim promised to reveal his plan to reform the administration, and he scheduled the press conference for Wednesday. Such a promise is not only between the president and party colleagues but also by the President to the people. It is the party and politicians' duty to resolve the political dissatisfaction of the people. Such an important and critical promise can never be breached by using the drought as an excuse. We cannot stop worrying about the ruling party's insensitivity as we witness its leadership accusing the junior lawmakers of conspiracy and reacting with factional biases to their demands.

Many are watching the government to see if it will repeat last year's failures by meeting every crisis with declarations of reform. The ruling party should clearly say so if it has no appropriate reform measure to reveal or if it has no intention to reform the current administration. If it plans to make an announcement, it should set a time.