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[EDITORIALS]In the Center of a Scandal

Published: 05 Jan. 2003, 20:15

Hahn Hwa-kap, a supreme council member of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party, recently said, "The center of a typhoon realizes what is happening only after the typhoon has swept everything away. The Blue House, the center of the existing government, is said to be too inert, although it should be more alert to what is happening than anywhere else." Kim Keun-tae, another supreme council member of the party, also said, "The expectation of the people's government has turned to disappiontment and wrath due to the government's free-falling morality."

These comments, which came out in the whirl of the Lee Yong-ho corruption scandal, and the endless suspicions of that scandal still not cleared up, can be accepted as a self-reflection that is more and more widely shared by people within the ruling camp. They are feeling a crisis in the management of the government.

These two individuals are running for the presidential candidate of the party. Their comments seem carefully prepared to beef up their images as a presidential candidate and to distance themselves from the old group of Donggyodong faction. However, the words still can be said to have hit the target of the people's mind. The people are furious and in a state of utter bewilderment. They even agree with the words, "They devour whatever that bring them profits," uttered by the former president, Kim Young-sam. Doesn't the ruling party understand how much this scandal displeases people?

The disappointment and displeasure by the people were mainly caused by the Blue House and the Millennium Democratic Party, which are giving the impression that they are on the defensive and even reluctant to push for a more thorough investigation into the scandal, while protecting the individuals close to President. It is legally correct to say that demanding to dismiss Prosecutor General Shin Seung-nam because his brother took a lot of money from Lee Yong-ho is like asking to punish an innocent person for his relative's wrong-doing. However, there are many people whose strong suspicions are based on common sense: Mr. Lee must have given the money to the younger Mr. Shin because his older brother is the Prosecutor General.