President`s Slip of Tongue

President Roh recently made a series of remarks that have invited harsh public criticism, such as “dogfight”, “ragpicker”, “sense of crisis” and so on.

There are numerous cases of using unsightly words and slang, of which the President has come under fire from the public, before and after he took office.

Presidential aides defended the President by saying that the “President’s frequent use of slang should be regarded as efforts to overcome the authoritarian image of a president and win over the minds of ordinary citizens by adopting a simple manner of speech.”

However, political experts said, “Such unrefined words used by the President have caused too much public criticism which degrades the authority of the President. When it comes to this issue, the President and his aides should face reality and do their utmost to prevent recurrence of similar mistakes in the future.”

Close aides to the President said that, in most cases, the President made controversial remarks unintentionally by using informal words. They explained that he was born from a poor farming family and worked as a daily laborer at construction sites in his youth. With his social background, the president has led a life similar to that of ordinary citizens so is familiar with informal speech that ordinary people use in their daily lives.

One of his confidants said, “When the President started out in the political arena, I told him to express his opinions more freely. The President replied, ‘I`m from the countryside, so I’m not familiar with formal settings and don’t know how to express my opinions in a formal way. If I started speaking, I am going to make a lot of mistakes.’”

Some pointed out that the main cause of repeated controversy regarding the President`s use of slang can be easily found in the fact that the President likes more natural and improvised speech.

A high-raking official at Cheong Wa Dae said, “The President usually gives most speeches without looking at prepared scripts. Once, he carefully read the scripts prepared by the presidential press secretaries, but never looked at them carefully. Many people often accuse the President for using improper words, but no one thought he used inappropriate words when people on hand listened to him.”

A senior official in the ruling Millennium Democratic Party said, “The President should be careful when he gives speeches on formal occasions. He should be concerned about public reaction to his remarks because he is the President after all.”

Some said that the President’s attitude towards criticism against his use of informal words is just causing more problems. He thinks criticism is a kind of “bashing” or “persecution” against him.

Meanwhile, the “Cheong Wa Dae Briefing”, a newsletter, commented on the President`s speech on May 23. “He is good at creating an amicable atmosphere when he meets people because of his humble manner of speech which disposes of formalities by adopting humorous expressions. This all is a reflection of his modesty,” it stated.

Hyung-gwon Pu Seung-Heon Lee bookum90@donga.com ddr@donga.com