Goh Kun Will Exercises Right to Propose Dismissal of Cabinet Minister

Prime Minister Goh Kun on Tuesday said that he would exercise the right to recommend as cabinet ministers and if necessary, the right to propose the dismissal of a specific minister in order to fully exercise his rights stated in the Constitution.

Goh said that for cabinet ministers he would play the so-called role of a woman`s mother-in-law. When asked if it meant that he would discipline ministers, he said, "yes."

In an exclusive interview with the Donga daily newspaper, he said that he would take control of national administration as prime minister.

For a lack of a proper decision making system within the government mentioned, he replied that he would convene a policy coordination meeting twice a week in order to effectively respond to social issues, including the National Education Information System (NEIS). According to his plan, related ministers, the presidential chief of staff and related senior secretaries would come up with solutions together at the meeting.

In addition, Goh suggested shifting the focus of regulation reform from easing more administrational regulations to improving the quality of regulation to the OECD countries` level; improving the nation`s ranking in the Corruption Perception Index to 20th from the current 40th during the new government`s five-year term; and enhancing the quality of administrational service to the public by the introduction of a system in which the public assesses the service.

Seung-Ryun Kim srkim@donga.com