Cool it, stick to rules

Both President-elect Lee Myung-bak and the United Democratic Party are responsible for the major upheavals affecting the incoming administration.
The president-elect is rushing, and violating principles and procedures along the way. The United Democratic Party is not properly deciphering the historical meaning of a new beginning for a government elected by the people. People are worried that the new era’s spirit is in danger of fading because of both sides’ immaturity and haste.
The president-elect announced 15 ministerial candidates while negotiations were still underway. Waiting a day or two before announcing them would not have seriously damaged national politics.
The president-elect held workshops with the candidates that very night, which is in violation of laws on the National Assembly role and authority to hold personnel hearings. Candidates become ministers only upon confirmation at the conclusion of the National Assembly personnel hearings. No one knows whether defects will surface during the hearings or what kind of hearing document the National Assembly will adopt.
It is disrespectful to the National Assembly to hold workshops with the candidates he has chosen as if they were already ministers.
We understand the president-elect’s deepest desire to start working as soon as possible by creating his own cabinet. However, it is more important to abide by laws and procedural regulations than to start a few days early.
The president-elect, his secretariat and the presidential transition committee seem to be obsessed with the notion that they must show a “working government” to the people. They should now draw a deep breath. In their wisdom our ancestors have cautioned us to take the long road when we are most pressed.
The opposition party led by Sohn Hak-kyu should not bargain. It should look straight into history. If the president-elect has changed his mind and decided to keep the Unification Ministry and the Gender Equality Ministry, the opposition party should accommodate along those lines.
Of course, there are many differing views on whether to keep the Fisheries Ministry. However, the opposition party should remember that it is the people who selected the president-elect. It is only appropriate from a broader perspective for the United Democratic Party to help the president-elect and his wishes to govern the country efficiently with a “small government.”