Quotations of the day

No matter how desolate the political arena might be, etiquette must be observed. (An aide to Grand National Party president Lee Hoi-Chang on Saturday, commenting on Lee's decision to send a potted orchid to congratulate President Kim Dae-Jung on his birthday. The aide said the gift was given in accordance with common courtesy, and despite dissenting voices from some of Lee's fellow party members.)

The question prompted exam-takers to ponder the absence of leadership in our time. (Jeong Ha-Young, the Ehwa Womans University professor who headed the faculty team preparing test questions for applicants to the school, on Saturday. He was explaining the background for asking students on the 2001 exam to discuss the meaning of leadership in the modern sense.)

The profession of politics turns a man into a thief and only one who is good at thievery can make a good politician. (A donga.com netizen on Saturday, denouncing the controversy over slush funds allegedly gathered by many politicians.)

An economy is not the sort of thing that is resuscitated by sloganeering. (A netizen visiting the Cheong Wa Dae web site on Saturday to call for concrete measures to bolster the sinking economy.)