Whom can we trust?

A recent gathering of core Blue House officials and KBS executives was inappropriate.

The public broadcaster’s problems have become one of the most pressing issues facing the country. These problems stem from the actions of KBS President Jung Yun-joo, who practiced broadcasting according to the ideology of the Roh Moo-hyun administration.

People are watching whether the Lee Myung-bak administration will be able to put an end to power intrusion into broadcasting or whether the next KBS president will be selected through a fair process.

The Korean people will view the way the administration tries to resolve this crisis as indicative of the government’s trustworthiness.

Calling a gathering in the midst of this crisis, though, makes us question the Blue House’s tactics.

Choi See-joong, head of the Korea Communications Commission, has been criticized because by attending the meeting, he has damaged the independence of the commission. He is a close ally of the nation’s president.

Yu Jae-cheon, chairman of the KBS board of directors, should not have attended because he is in charge of the process of finding the right person to be the next KBS chief.

Three former KBS officials were mentioned as possible candidates for the presidency, and Kim Eun-gu, former KBS executive director, was one of five shortlisted by the board of directors.

Can the Blue House chief of staff and spokesperson meet with such officials and still claim that nothing is amiss?

Choi, the head of the communications commission, has drawn suspicion by contacting the Blue House in the midst of the whole affair, and Yu has damaged the possibility of a fair selection for the KBS chief.

Kim Eun-gu applied for the job three days after the meeting. If he had intended to do so, he shouldn’t have gone to the meeting.

The Blue House chief of staff is President Lee’s surrogate and the spokesperson is his mouthpiece. Blue House officials should take to heart as sacred the Korean saying, “Don’t tie your hat strings under a plum tree,” which means don’t do anything that can be seen as suspicious.

Six months into the new administration, the Blue House is still showing amateurism. Whatever the president and his administration say, people can’t seem to trust them. Blue House officials and all those at the meeting should apologize to the people and honestly explain what happened.