Achievements of the Current Administration

President Roh Moo-hyun’s political affairs aide Lee Byung-wan reportedly said in his speech to policy agency staff on April 26, “Former presidents were not perfect in morality, but the current administration is confident in its morality.”

In a closed-door speech on the theme of the “assessment of the four years of the current administration and future tasks,” Lee reportedly said, “You sometimes use different words which have basically the same meaning but different connotations in describing the same thing. I hope the administration can be described with a neutral word if not a positive word.”

Lee said, “There are five items of assessment for the administration: morality, political development and democracy, people’s livelihoods and economy, defense and diplomacy, and society and culture,” explaining the achievements made by the administration. He said, “Looking back on the 20 years since the country’s democratization in 1987, former President Roh Tae-woo introduced democracy and a direct presidential election system, while Kim Young-sam dissolved Hanahoe, a notorious group of military officers, and adopted a real-name financial transaction system, and Kim Dae-jung successfully held an inter-Korean summit,” adding, “The current administration has rooted out election corruption and transformed the culture of power.”

Moreover, he said, “The administration is not popular. That’s because it did everything that previous administrations delayed, including the selection of a nuclear dump site, the relocation of the Yongsan Garrison, and balanced Korea’s development, and because people have become increasingly displeased with insufficient welfare amid the repercussions of the financial crisis of the late 1990s.”

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