[EDITORIALS]Stop the experimenting

Today marks the first anniversary of the Roh Moo-hyun administration. The year has been full of strong winds of change, but frankly speaking, we believe that the changes were more negative than positive. Thus, we would like to ask the administration to reflect on itself rather than to applaud what the government achieved last year.
The year was one of political experimentation. The administration’s policy confusion baffled the public and its attention to the problems of the past prevented it from moving ahead. The thought that we would not be able to bear the remaining years was common during the past year. Opinion polls also suggest that the administration did not excel in most state affairs.
The president failed to demonstrate reliable leadership. He frequently made inappropriate remarks; in particular, he repeatedly said he would resign if he did not have the public’s confidence. While Mr. Roh promised a “politics of cooperation” at the beginning of his term, the relationship between the administration and the National Assembly now is the worst we have ever seen. Opposition parties are rumbling about impeachment. Mr. Roh’s defection from the Millennium Democratic Party led to the breakup of the ruling party, which produced a very unstable political landscape.
Second, the administration’s lust to solve problems when it did not possess the necessary expertise created incidents like the strike of independent truckers, controversies over the computerization of our education system and the designation of a nuclear waste disposal site.
When corruption among the president’s aides surfaced, the administration’s morality and eagerness for reform was questioned, and important issues such as the relocation of the nation’s administrative capital were apparently driven by populism.
Most of all, the nation was split deeply over ideology, and our alliance with the United States was undermined.
The political experimentation of the Roh administration should end now. We do not have any more time to indulge in such things. We have already learned how important a president’s leadership ability is. We hope Mr. Roh can show a desire for cooperation, integration and stabilization.