hankyoreh

who provided testimony

The National Assembly confirmation hearing for Prime Minister nominee Lee Wan-koo finished on Feb. 11. All that’s left now is to decide whether to approve Lee’s nomination or force him to bow out. The one thing the two-day hearing has made clear is that Lee is not qualified to be Prime Minister. Public disappointment with him, which had been present before the hearing even started, has only gotten worse. Many are concerned that ratifying a person like Lee would render the very standard of the confirmation hearing meaningless.

Lee had been dogged by all sorts of allegations before the proceedings even got under way. He seemed to embody the full litany of issues that seem to crop up every time someone is screened for public office: evading military service, real estate speculation, academic plagiarism, imperial “speaking engagements,” nonpayment of his family’s health insurance premiums. If he hadn’t been a prominent lawmaker and former ruling party floor leader, this history alone would have been enough to warrant resigning his seat - never mind sitting down for a confirmation hearing. Now we can add another item to the laundry list with his shocking remarks boasting of government-media back-scratching and pressure tactics against the press.

The reason we have been patient enough to sit through Lee’s two-day long hearing may have been the burden of public opinion - the possibility that Lee might join Ahn Dae-hee and Moon Chang-geuk as nominees for Prime Minister who bowed out of consideration. That kind of political decision may also explain why the ruling Saenuri Party (NFP) leadership is talking so loudly about the need to do whatever it takes to pass Lee’s ratification before next week’s Lunar New Year holiday.

This leaves Lee with his own riddle to solve. The hearing was his last chance to turn the tide. Things might have been different if all the allegations had been proven trivial, and the public had decided there was no problem with having someone like him overseeing the executive branch as Prime Minister. Instead, opinions about Lee only got worse, as the hearing produced several new findings that raise questions about his fitness. At this point, Lee himself has to be aware of the mood. Suppose he does defy the sour opinion and ride his Blue House support and the ruling party’s majority into office - could he even do a proper job as Prime Minister now?

If the Saenuri Party is thinking of forcing Lee‘s ratification through on a vote, regardless of opinion, it should think twice. Its political concerns do make some degree of sense - who’s going to want to go up for Prime Minister next after three nominees have dropped out in two years? - but what matters most is what the public decides. In the past, presidents simply appointed prime ministers. The reason we make them go through confirmation hearings and ratification votes now so that the public’s feelings are reflected in the filling of such an important position. The need to choose someone who is acceptable to the public is more important than the potential political fallout. If only for that reason, we hope Lee chooses his next course of action wisely.

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