Being diligent vs. assiduous

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra of Thailand, President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE. These are just few world leaders known to be close to former president Lee Myung-bak. U.S. President Barack Obama called Lee one of his five best friends last year. The New York Times reported in 2011 that Washington had never been as hospitable to a foreign leader as it was to Lee and spoke of a mysterious and strong bond between the two leaders.

A former officer who often accompanied Lee on overseas trips said, “I think leaders of foreign states like him for his diligence.” He said Lee continued to prepare for the next day’s summit talks late into the night and resumed preparation early in the morning. Lee never failed to impress other leaders because he even memorized and recited a poem written by the head of a visiting country as a teen. Known as always diligent throughout his life and proud of his lifestyle, Lee said in his farewell luncheon with correspondents covering the presidential office, “I believe those who`ve worked hard will understand us.”

When the head of an organization is a workaholic, others under him or her follow suit. Soon after Lee took office, administration officials considered themselves early birds because they went to work earlier than before in the morning. They said their week comprised Monday through Thursday as usual, then Friday, Friday and Friday because they came to work seven days a week. All civil servants complained that they were tired. High-ranking officials went to their offices on weekends even if they had no urgent tasks to take care of. Being diligent is different from being assiduous. Was the Lee administration diligent? Yes. Was it assiduous? Answering this question is tricky because of the lack of communication with the people, corruption scandals involving Lee’s families and confidants, and the controversy over the government`s illegal surveillance of civilians.

There are times when the president needs to be a salesperson in such occasions as summit talks. Most of the time, however, he or she must be a planner, organizer or leader with a vision rather than a salesperson. This applies to the leader of any large organization. A president`s diligence is different from that of a salesperson. Without securing enough time to consider matters, the president cannot devise a good plan.

Critics say the Lee administration lacked philosophy. The president’s diligence might have partly contributed to this criticism. New President Park Geun-hye has never been described as a workaholic. Each leader has a different style of governance, and it cannot be said which one is better. The Park administration is expected to transcend diligence to work well and become assiduous.

Industrial News Reporter Jang Kang-myeong (tesomiom@donga.com)