[Editorial] Absence of Premier Will End This Time?

Former head of National Election Commission Kim Suk-joo is appointed as new Acting Prime Minister. It’s the third designation in two months. Since two predecessors of Kim was rejected by Congress, it would be fair to say that the public are wondering more about whether Kim would be approved, rather than about who Kim is.

President Kim Dea Jung and Blue House aids themselves said they put the top priority on the passage of his approval in Congress. So far, it is reported, 50 candidates have been reviewed, and, especially in Kim’s case, Blue House officials thoroughly checked 23 aspects of Kim for several days. Thus, it is expected that by this appointment, the office of Prime Minister will no longer be left empty.

All of this trouble stemmed from President Kim’s adherence to acting premiership. If he had appointed a substitute Premier and thus earned time for background-checking of a possible candidate, he would probably have avoided this chaos within the administration caused by absence of a Prime Minister. Instead, he stuck to repetition of the “surprise party” type of appointment, asking for the chaos himself.

Failure of two premier-designates at approval hearing has reminded us that to be a high-ranking official, one has to maintain a moral, ethical life. Some people argue that the standard for screening is too higher in comparison with the standard generally accepted in society. Nonetheless, the higher standard is what we have to pursue. Congress should keep in mind that if Congress decides to go easy on the new Prime Minister just because it’s the third time, it is Congress that will be criticized by the public. Congress should act only based on what emerges throughout the hearing as the public opinion in deciding on the passage of the approval.

Especially this time, the screening should be focused more on Kim’s administrative ability than on the moral side of his life. By doing so, Congress will raise the level of the approval hearing. Just to make up for the damage to governance caused by the absence of a Prime Minister, Congress should set up the dignity of the approval hearing.