Quotations of the day

It is my basic position that the approach to a change needs to be conservative, no matter how radical the change might be. (KBS president Park Kwon-Sang Thursday, responding to a question by Rep. Nam Kyung-Pil of the Grand National Party about a program on homosexuals ¡°coming out¡± during a parliamentary audit at the National Assembly Culture-Tourism Committee.)

How can an objective judgment be expected of a bank when it is standing before the point of the sword? (A bank clerk Thursday, speaking on the concurrent screening of bank management and the performance of other businesses in distress targeted for liquidation.)

A cell phone is no longer an accessory or an expendable item. (Jo Chang-Eun, director of information planning at the Korea Consumer Protection Board Thursday, pointing out a lack of improvement in carrier services despite a hike in mobile phone prices.)

Nasdaq traders are hoping that Republican presidential candidate George Bush, who advocates "small government and market principles,¡± will win the election. (Yang Bom-Jik, senior fellow of the Hanhwa Securities Co. economic research team Thursday, commenting on the sharp rally in Nasdaq indices whenever Bush leads opinion polls in the U.S. presidential race.)

The Financial Supervisory Service, which is a watchdog of banking institutions, has turned into a hotbed of irregularities. (Citizens' Alliance for Anti-corruption Legislation Thursday, campaigning for laws to prevent corruption and money laundering in front of the FSS building in Yoido.)

There are still not a few dictators in Asia. These dictators must be driven out for the sake of human rights, democracy and future generations. (Former President Kim Young-Sam in his keynote address to a forum of Young Asian Leaders held at Hotel Shilla in Seoul on Thursday.)