Find another nominee, please

Home > Opinion > Editorials

print dictionary print

Find another nominee, please

After the Grand National Party’s leadership declared Chung Tong-gi unfit to be chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, he has little chance of winning approval from the National Assembly to step into the post.

In the last two years, Kim Tae-ho, Shin Jae-min and Lee Jae-hoon - nominees for prime minister, minister of culture and minister of knowledge economy, respectively - voluntarily stepped down before the National Assembly voted.

In Chung’s case, however, the ruling party rushed to oppose his appointment even before his hearing took place, demonstrating the inappropriateness of the appointment. GNP disapproval of Chung has opened a rift within the ruling camp.

If the Blue House keeps pressure on the party for his appointment, the administration risks achieving lame-duck status. With more than two years left in President Lee Myung-bak’s term, the internal conflict is unfortunate for the government and the people. The Blue House needs to wake up and come to terms with the president’s choice if it does not want to repeat the same mistakes it make with Kim, Shin and Lee.

The Blue House’s moral standard differs from that of average citizens. If it had taken note of previous cases in which its nominees for public offices failed to get approval from the National Assembly, this sort of mishap would not have occurred yet again.

Seven months into the Roh Moo-hyun administration, the then-opposition GNP thwarted Roh’s attempt to appoint Korea University Professor Yoon Sung-sik as head of the audit board, even though he had strong qualifications. He also had almost no personal deficiencies. Yet the GNP forced Yoon to rescind his candidacy because his close relationship with Roh threatened the neutrality of the audit board.

If the Blue House maintained the same standards over the years, it would have thought twice before nominating Chung.

The Blue House’s argument that he had no legal problems does not make sense to common people. It only aggravates their sense of disapproval. With the latest fiasco as an example, it is evident that the Blue House is being hypocritical when it espouses a fair society.

If the Blue House fails to come to terms with its shortcomings, such mishaps could be repeated.

It must now find another candidate who is fit for the job as soon as possible.
Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)