[Editorial] Reform of state affairs and indiscriminate appointments

President Kim Dae-Jung was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize Sunday evening (KST) in Oslo, Norway. The nation extends its hearty congratulations to him. In his departure statement, President Kim pledged that upon his return he would undertake the revamping of state affairs, a task that will include reshuffling key party posts and the cabinet line-up.

No doubt many people hope the sincerity of their congratulations is matched by the earnestness of the President's approach to his work at home.

The recent debacle of a police appointment that culminated in the appointee¡¯s removal only two days after being named to the post made us all the more skeptical about the current administration's commitment to reform.

Park Geum-Sung, who was forced to resign as chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) only 48 hours after his appointment, is suspected of having falsified his academic records. Park should blame no one but himself for resorting to dishonest means to serve his thirst for power.

At the height of the controversy, Park's excuse was that he attended evening classes or was an auditor for lectures at the school of which he had originally claimed to be a graduate. It is beyond our comprehension how such a dishonest person like Park was promoted to one of the highest offices in our police force. Under the current administration, Park was promoted in a whirlwind fashion from senior police superintendent to a position that is three ranks higher in the official echelon. Shockingly, he ascended to the country's highest police rank, excluding the post of director of the National Police Agency, in a period of only two years and eight months. Ordinarily, reaching that level would have required over 7 years.

The rumor circulating both inside and outside of police ranks is that Park's appointment as SMPA chief was due to the influence of the ruling elite. His resignation resulted from the public's criticism that his appointment reflected regional favoritism together with their outrage at his moral flaws. He now holds the distinction of being the SMPA chief with the shortest tenure in the nation¡¯s history.

Of more significance here is the fact that the administration, despite its professed commitment to reform, resorted to such a misguided choice of appointee. It should have fully anticipated that Park's appointment would draw accusations of regionalism and favoritism. Apparently overlooking this possibility, the administration pushed ahead with decisions to appoint Cholla Province natives to the positions of SMPA director and director of the country's National Police Agency.

With such an audacious and unyielding mindset, the government will find it hard to accomplish our agenda to reform the nation's state affairs. The administration, whenever it encountered public accusations of regional favoritism in personnel administration decisions, has contended that it was only making regionally balanced appointments. It even retorted that past administrations were much worse offenders. But this is to repeat the errors of the past rather than working to eliminate them. The hard-won transfer of power finds no meaning as long as such practices are retained.

It should be recalled here that the incumbent administration pledged some time ago that it would remove any presidents of public corporations who failed to accomplish their restructuring goals. The administration only jeopardizes its credibility by going to such extremes in order to ensure positions for the cronies of the ruling elite. How can it say that it is going to make presidents of public corporations accountable for mismanagement when the government itself is guilty of similar wrongdoing?