[Editorial] Road to Stable Prime Minister and Cabinet

President-elect Roh Moo-hyun has claimed himself as the candidate who exactly understands what the majority of citizens want. If that is true, he should appoint right people to right posts. Correct operation of government starts with appointment of the right people to the right positions. For this reason, we note his remarks of "reform-minded President and balanced Prime Minister." We will closely watch how his intention is being realized.

Yesterday, Mr. Noh made some comments indicating how his cabinet would be composed. He said, "Some fellow Koreans worry about my reform-orientedness. To relieve their concern I will leave the cabinet to a veteran and respected politician. Thus, I can pursue a political reform, while the Prime Minister will maintain the stability." Hopefully, Mr. Roh seems to intend to pursue a stabilized reform, rather than to adopt dramatic reform policies.

Despite his dramatic victory, Roh has relatively weak political foundations. For example, Congress is dominated by the opposition party. Without their help, he could not operate his administration in a proper way. If things go wrong, the first Prime Minister candidate would not even pass the approval hearing in Congress.

In order to overcome all these difficulties, Mr. Roh should put up on the front a person who could be easily enforceable even by the opposition party. This presidential election has verified the deep divisions lying in our society along the regional, generational, and ideological lines. To seal the gaps between the divisions, balanced appointment is the absolute and a priori condition, which in turn requires Mr. Roh should use a wider pool of candidates, rather than a narrower pool limited to his henchmen. Please do not even think about awarding his campaign strategists. It`s not only about Prime Minister or ministers. This is the principle that should be kept in mind in assigning positions to all government employees.

In addition, we believe that, prior to the inauguration, eligible candidates satisfying all these standards should be selected for offices of Prime Minister and other ministers. That way, a new administration could be launched smoothly without any glitches. Under the current legal system, it is impossible to realize what we hope for. Therefore, it is also necessary to come up with desirable legal systems.