President`s news conferences

The U.S. president has the right as guaranteed under Article 2, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution to give a State of the Union address to both houses of Congress in late January or early February. President Barak Obama gave his second State of the Union address Tuesday and received 70 rounds of applause. It was impressive to see his political rival, House Speaker John Boehner, give a thumbs up to Obama on the podium. Obama has held news conferences whenever he has pending issues to handle and communicated directly with the public. He convened 27 news conferences with question and answer sessions last year alone.

In Korea, the president rarely gives speeches before the National Assembly. A time-honored practice is for the prime minister to deliver a speech to parliament on the president`s behalf even when the president is expected to give a policy address in the regular assembly session in September for submission of the state budget. This is a practice that belittles parliament and has lasted since the era of authoritarian governments. While avoiding speeches before the National Assembly, the president gives a New Year`s speech and news conferences. The president`s news conferences generally have the format in which reporters who ask questions are selected and topics are coordinated in advance. It is an ill-advised legacy from dictatorial governments meant to protect the president from critical questions.

Korean presidents give New Year`s speeches because the public has high expectations for the new year. President Lee Myung-bak will hold a New Year`s TV interview Tuesday but reporters are excluded and just two panelists will speak to the president on matters restricted to the economy and foreign relations, a format devised by the presidential office. Since his inauguration, President Lee has never held a New Year`s news conference in which he fields questions from reporters in a highly contentious fashion. This was not the case with presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun. Of the more than 20 news conferences President Lee has hosted since his inauguration, he fielded questions from the media on just a few occasions.

When President Lee hosted in September 2009 a news conference on Seoul`s hosting of the G-20 summit, he dodged questions on Sejong City, which was then the most controversial issue. If reporters to ask questions are not chosen in advance and the president can freely pick among journalists who raise hands and energetically field questions, communication with the public will become much more seamless and efficient. Even if the president makes a slip of the tongue at a news conference televised live, the Korean people are broadminded enough to take it as a friendly act. The public wants to see a president who confidently holds a news conference and courageously expresses what he or she believes on pending national issues

Editorial Writer Jeong Yeon-wook (jyw11@donga.com)