Quotations of the day

Unless those chief executive officers and entrepreneurs who defied or broke laws in pursuit of private gains are called to account and punished for their irregularities, a question of justice will be raised as to our efforts to share the pains. (Rep. Kim Keun-Tae, a member of the Millennium Democratic Party's Supreme Council on Thursday, referring to the alleged moral laxity of some businessmen that has stalled economic reforms.)

The bargain struck between the ruling and opposition parties in the parliamentary action on the 2001 budget is a masterpiece of political showmanship. (Rep. Lee Sang-Bae of the Grand National Party on Wednesday, when he cast a vote against the budget during parliamentary deliberations on the grounds that the deal was made with the aim of halving the political dividends of the fiscal plan.)

Build knowledge-based industry and achieve a New Economy. (Park Yong-Sung, president of Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), presenting the catchphrase for the KCCI in the coming year during his New Year's message Thursday.)

College students these days are quite silent. (A netizen visiting the Web site of the presidential office at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday, commenting on the tendency of students to prepare for job placement tests instead of taking an interest in protests as they did in the past.)