Series of Setbacks Burdens Blue House

"Nothing gets resolved and everything's mired in controversy," a senior official quoted President Kim Dae-jung as saying recently.

Mr. Kim was referring to the series of mishaps that have embarrassed his government recently, such as the downgrading of South Korea's air-safety rating by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the runaway actions by the South Korean participants in a festival in Pyongyang and the displeasure ex-pressed by his coalition partner, Kim Jong-pil, at the way the country was governed.

Kim Mahn-je, chief policymaker of the opposition Grand National Party, called for the resignation of Construction and Transportation Minister Oh Jang-seop, saying that because of Mr. Oh's misjudgment, South Korea's international reputation has suffered and millions of dollars in financial damages are expected. Kwon Chul-hyun, the opposition party's spokesman, said the government had failed to devise adequate plans even after the International Civil Aviation Organization made similar criticisms to those of the FAA in June of last year.

A senior ruling party official went as far as to say the situation surrounding the lowering of the rating was akin to that of the Asian financial crisis that broke out toward the end of Kim Young-sam's term in presidential office in 1997.

"There was sufficient time to deal with the problems, and yet government officials were nonchalant and their policies short-sighted," he said.

The government was also caught off guard by the participation of the South Korean delegation in an event held in Pyongyang that is largely seen as a propaganda session for North Korea's idea of reunifying the peninsula. Ruling party officials are concerned that the delegation's participation may instigate an ideological offensive against the president.

The Grand National Party questioned why Unification Minister Lim Dong-won hurriedly approved the delegation's visit only 20 hours before their departure, despite opposition by the ministry's working-level officials. The opposition party suspects that the policy reversal, which endorsed the visit by figures who pledged allegiance in 1999 to the late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung's reunification plan, reflected President Kim's beliefs.

To deal with the series of mounting problems, Mr. Kim is expected to re-shuffle his cabinet and the party posts toward the end of August.

But hurdles remain. A Millennium Democratic Party official said Mr. Oh, the construction and transportation minister, should have resigned on his own. But the post belongs to the United Liberal Democrats, a party in the ruling coalition, and Mr. Oh's fate is having to await the decision of Kim Jong-pil, the ULD's de facto leader.

Mr. Kim also has publicly expressed his displeasure with the government's North Korea policy.

by Kim Jin-kook