Removing cronyism from the presidency

By Lee Chang-sup

President Lee has apologized to the public several times, not for policy mistakes, but for his cronies’ bribe taking. Prominent among his apologies is that over the arrest of his elder brother and former lawmaker Lee Sang-deuk for bribery.

In a Confucian society, the young often do not challenge the elder, and this may be why the President was unable to keep his elder brother from selling government posts. According to cynics, the current administration had been run under the collective leadership of the Lee brothers. Until the elder Lee was recently jailed, he evidently and purportedly played a decisive role in installing his cronies at government agencies and even private companies, including commercial banks. Like cronyism, nepotism is poisonous.

In fact, like many Korean leaders, the President is a victim of his subconscious reliance on cronyism and nepotism. He has appointed longstanding friends to positions of authority, regardless of their abilities. Consequently, dozens of his staffers and loyalists, including former Korea Telecommunications Commission Chairman Choi See-joong, have been jailed for bribe taking, for which the President has had to apologize to the nation.

Overall, the President scored low in terms of meritocracy, which involves picking public post-holders based on competency, ability and achievements. His presidency might be shining now had he adopted meritocracy.

President Lee has adhered to flawed principles in personnel management: (1) he seldom appointed professionals he did not know; (2) he screened out potential appointees from specific regions and the liberal party; (3) he centralized the appointment of government employees, thus weakening the power of ministers and strengthening the influence of his Blue House staff; and (4) he destroyed the credibility of the committees in charge of selecting heads of state and public organizations. These screening committees have been the rubber-stamp bodies that nominated the people handpicked by the presidential office.

In response to the public’s criticism of the rampant cronyism, Presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo vowed Sunday to limit the number of political appointees to 1,000 during his administration. The other two candidates, Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in, would undoubtedly vow to do the same.

Indeed, whoever wins the presidency should uproot cronyism and introduce meritocracy. The next national leader should decentralize the appointment process, so that his or her office would not be able to select an inordinate number of appointees. The presidential office should have minimal influence so that the screening committees are able to pick heads for government and public agencies in a fair manner.

The presidential office should not meddle in appointments at private companies. For example, Korea’s two leading banks, Woori and KB, are headed by Lee’s long-time loyalists and his elder jailed brother’s sycophants. The presidential office should only set guidelines for naming political appointees, with competency, internal promotion and regional balance as key criteria.

Professors are another group benefitting from the President’s cronyism. In Korea, there are too many professors jockeying for public posts. This year, for instance, more than 500 professors are reportedly working for the presidential candidates. During election year, these so-called political professors, often called “polifessors,” work for the presidential candidates, not for the students. These polifessors secured their PhDs in order to fulfil their secular dream to work in the government, not to teach students. Once their candidate wins, they peddle their influence in order to head public and government organizations, secure lucrative research funds and be promoted in their colleges.

Thus, the National Assembly needs to institute a law mandating professors to resign from their colleges before joining political parties. Further, each university should have the discretion to rehire them once they finished serving their public posts.

As a former U.S. ambassador to Korea, Donald Gregg, has put it, “South Korea has been very tough on its presidents: One was forced from office by a popular uprising and another by a military coup; one was assassinated; two were arrested and jailed; another two were disgraced by family corruption; and Lee’s immediate predecessor was first impeached and once out of office was so harried that he committed suicide.”

Indeed, President Lee has wasted much of his presidency on naming his cronies and former classmates to key public posts. Like his predecessors, including Chun Doo-hwan, Roh Tae-woo, Kim Young-sam, Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, the president was victimized by cronyism and nepotism. Their corrupt ties have made former presidents’ postretirement life unhappy and inglorious, having disillusioned the public, fanned regional antagonism and deepened the feud between conservatives and liberals. Likewise, President Lee may also face a tough postretirement life for his thoughtless abuse of cronyism in running the government.

In Korea, the presidential race is a war between cronies for their post-election glory. Although political appointees are necessary for the president to run the government effectively, many of Korea’s political appointees are cronies who want to glorify their life and achieve fame. Further, amateur cronies have often destroyed the credibility and professionalism of key government agencies. These unprofessional appointees have often driven out otherwise professional technocrats, thus demoralizing the employees and sapping the organizations’ vitality. This vicious cycle should end now.

Government and public organizations should improve transparency in order to eliminate any room for corrupt political appointees, whose bribe taking, including selling posts for a price the equivalent of a year’s salary, is no longer a secret. Corrupt political appointees often spoil the credibility of public organizations by secretly selling posts to their trusted deputies. This political food chain, which is lucrative to both the sellers and buyers, is seldom revealed.

Cronyism and nepotism breed kleptocracy and crony capitalism. The current presidential candidates should ponder about how he or she can best break this pattern and serve the five-year term with dignity intact. His or her first job as the new president would be ending the pervasive cronyism and introducing meritocracy. Winning the presidency should no longer be a trophy for power-hungry cronies and old-boy networks.

Lee Chang-sup is the executive managing director of The Korea Times. Contact him at editorial@koreatimes.co.kr.

Military criticized for lying about NK soldier's defection

South Korea's military has come under fire after a special investigation team revealed Wednesday that a North Korean defector managed to reach the barracks of a South Korean front-line unit undetected, after crossing the inter-Korean border.

An Army unit on the eastern front originally announced that the North Korean soldier was spotted on a surveillance camera on Oct. 2 and was taken into custody by South Korean soldiers after he expressed his desire to defect to the South.

Two days later, however, an investigation team of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said it discovered the soldiers on duty were unaware of the defector until he knocked on the door at the general outpost (GOP).

"The defector knocked on the door at the guard outpost and our soldiers went out and took him into custody," a senior military official said, asking anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

A surveillance camera is installed at the GOP, but it did not record the border crossing at the time, the official said.

With on-site inspections still underway, the investigation team disclosed that the 22-year-old soldier climbed barbed wire fences north of the Demilitarized Zone at 8 p.m. on Oct. 2, according to officials. The 160 centimeter tall, 50 kilogram man then passed over the border fence in the South two hours later undetected.

Criticism mounted further as the military base was on heightened at the time alert following a reported sighting of a North Korean submarine in the East Sea earlier in the day, though it later turned out to be a misidentification.

Asked why the military has not promptly announced the soldier's defection during a parliamentary audit on Monday, JCS Chairman Jung Seung-jo told lawmakers the military makes it a rule not to disclose defections by soldiers to protect their relatives in the communist nation. He admitted, however, that the military had committed a "big mistake."

The latest revelation is expected to spark criticism of the military's attempt to cover up the case, which illustrates lax security on the frontier.

In a parliamentary audit on Monday, opposition lawmakers strongly censured the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, saying South Korean troops could have been harmed if the defector had been carrying weapons.

Although defections across the land border are rare, two other soldiers from the communist nation have made their way across the heavily armed border this year alone.

Just four days after the Oct. 2 defection, an 18-year-old solider defected Saturday after reportedly shooting two of his officers to death. Earlier, a third North Korean soldier crossed the land border into the South on Aug. 17, waving a white flag, an international symbol of capitulation.

It is widely known that the North selects its front-line soldiers from those with good family backgrounds and they pass tough screening because of concerns they may flee to the South.

The two Koreas remain technically at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. (Yonhap)

Who would head Moon-Ahn ticket?

Ahn Cheol-soo, independent presidential candidate, tastes a cucumber during his visit to a farm in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, Wednesday. / Yonhap

Joint candidacy is viable option to beat Rep. Park

By Chung Min-uck

The camps of presidential candidates Ahn Cheol-soo and Rep. Moon Jae-in have dismissed it, but the scenario of an alliance based on sharing power could prove irresistible if the two decide they can’t beat the Saenuri Party’s Park Geun-hye individually.

The power sharing scenario was entertained in a liberal newspaper Wednesday but the independent and main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) candidates have denied it.

The catch is the power sharing formula ― who would become president and who

Moon Jae-in, the Democratic United Party’s presidential candidate, shares makgeolli with farmers in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, Wednesday. / Yonhap

would be prime minister.

The idea of a joint ticket has been favored by liberals as it could be the best formula to minimize a possible split of support in the Dec. 19 presidential poll.

“It is true that we are reviewing the implementation of a new governmental organ strictly in charge of the nation’s future vision,” Ahn’s spokesman Yoo Min-young told The Korea Times, Wednesday.

Rep. Song Ho-chang, who quit the DUP to join Ahn’s campaign Tuesday, added, “Ahn cannot win the presidential election without Moon and vice versa. They should compete in a beautiful manner and form a strong alliance.”

Song allegedly has a close relationship with both Ahn and Moon. Insiders say the former DUP lawmaker will undertake the role of communicating between the two sides to get them to form an alliance ahead of the election.

“They should focus on expanding their ratings as much as possible,” added the lawmaker.

Ahn is allegedly planning a new platform on sharing power between the president and prime minister.

Though Yoo denied this, speculation is rising that the president would be in charge of diplomacy, national defense and mapping
out a future vision for the nation while the prime minister would take care of domestic affairs.

Moon called for a new decentralized government system in which the prime minister would be given more power, during his acceptance speech last month on becoming the DUP candidate.

Political pundits say that by raising the idea of a joint government, Ahn and Moon aim to take office without losing liberal votes.

Ahn has a good chance of becoming president backed by a large number of lawmakers if Moon agrees to assume the post of prime minister. Ahn has been criticized by his opponents for having no parliamentary experience.

Ahn’s camp, however, remains cautious about the prospect.

Chief campaign strategist for Ahn’s camp Park Sun-sook said, “It is not within the boundaries of the law to divide power between the president and prime minister.”

“Ahn said in the book Ahn Cheol-soo’s Thoughts that he wants to fully guarantee the authority of the prime minister as long as the law allows,” Park added.

Under the constitution, the prime minister has the right to recommend candidates for ministerial positions but no authority to actually appoint them.

The speculation over a “coalition government” comes amid growing tension between the two liberal candidates to gain the upper hand in an envisioned liberal merger.

Opinion polls show Ahn and Moon will inevitably lose to Park if they choose to run separately as a vote split is expected.

Moon and Ahn each visited Daejeon Wednesday to try and woo voters there. The central city is considered a swing city relatively free from ideological division. 

Shooting of Pakistan girl activist sparks outrage

Schools shut their doors in protest and Pakistanis across the country held vigils Wednesday to pray for a 14-year-old girl who was shot by a Taliban gunman after daring to advocate education for girls and criticize the militant group.

The shooting of Malala Yousufzai on Tuesday in the town of Mingora in the volatile Swat Valley horrified Pakistanis across the religious, political and ethnic spectrum. Many in the country hoped the attack and the outrage it has sparked will be a turning point in Pakistan's long-running battle against the Taliban, which still enjoys considerable public support for fighting U.S. forces in neighboring Afghanistan.

Top U.S. officials condemned the attack and offered to help the girl.

A Taliban gunman walked up to a bus taking children home from school and shot Malala in the head and neck. Another girl on the bus was also wounded. Pictures of the vehicle showed bloodstained seats where the girls were sitting.

Malala appeared to be out of immediate danger after doctors operated on her early Wednesday to remove a bullet lodged in her neck. But she remained in intensive care at a hospital in the northwestern city of Peshawar, and Pakistan's Interior Minister said the next 48 hours would be crucial.

Small rallies and prayer sessions were held for her in Mingora, the eastern city of Lahore, the southern port city of Karachi and the capital of Islamabad. In newspapers, on TV and in social media forums, Pakistanis voiced their disgust with the attack, and expressed their admiration for a girl who spoke out against the Taliban when few dared.

Even the country's top military officer _ a man who rarely makes public statements _ condemned the shooting and visited the Peshawar hospital to check on the teenager.

“In attacking Malala, the terrorist have failed to grasp that she is not only an individual, but an icon of courage and hope who vindicates the great sacrifices that the people of Swat and the nation gave, for wresting the valley from the scourge of terrorism,” Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said in a statement.

In Washington, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said US officials “strongly condemn” the shooting and called it “barbaric” and “cowardly.”

He said U.S. has offered any assistance to Malala, mentioning possible air ambulance transport to a facility suitable for her treatment if it becomes necessary.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton praised the young Pakistani girl.

“She was attacked and shot by extremists who don't want girls to have an education and don't want girls to speak for themselves, and don't want girls to become leaders,” she said.

At the United Nations, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack on Malala, calling it a “heinous and cowardly act,” U.N. spokesman Nartin Nesirky said.

Malala is admired across Pakistan for exposing the Taliban's atrocities and advocating girls' education in the face of religious extremism.

At the age of 11, she began writing a blog under a pseudonym for the BBC about life under the Taliban in the Swat Valley. After the military ousted the militants in 2009, she began publicly speaking out about the need for girls' education, something the Taliban strongly opposes.

The group claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack, vowed to target her again.

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said authorities have identified her attackers and know how they got into the valley, but no arrests have been made.

The news that surgeons were able to remove a bullet lodged in Malala's neck was greeted with relief by many. But even with such an outpouring of grief and outrage in Pakistan over the young girl's shooting, it was unclear whether it would indeed trigger a shift in public opinion against the Taliban.

Many in Pakistan view the group as waging a noble fight against U.S. troops that invaded another Muslim country, Afghanistan, and they argue that the Taliban problem within Pakistan will fade once American forces leave. They argue that Taliban attacks against targets in Pakistan aim to punish the government in Islamabad for its alliance with Washington.

“Pakistan society is polarized on who is doing terrorism,” said Hasan-Askari Rizvi, a political analyst in Lahore. He said that divide has been evident even in the public condemnations of the attack, with some people speaking out strongly against the Taliban while others have criticized the government for failing to protect Malala.

Omar R. Quraishi, the editorial pages editor at Pakistan's English-language Express Tribune newspaper, questioned whether the public outrage had reached such a critical mass that it would indeed mark a turning point.

He said Kayani's strong statement in support of the girl may be an attempt to gauge whether there is enough public outrage to support a sharp response from the army against the Taliban. The general, said Quraishi, doesn't want to be in a position where people are asking: “Why are you fighting America's wars?”

The Pakistani military has been waging a deadly fight in the tribal regions against militants at a cost of about 4,000 soldiers killed. But critics, especially in the U.S., accuse the army of going after militants that attack the Pakistani state while cultivating others that it feels will be useful someday in Afghanistan.
Still, there is a precedent in Pakistan of Taliban excesses provoking public outrage, which the military has then capitalized on to move against the militants.

In 2009, after a video surfaced of militants publicly whipping a woman, purportedly in the Swat Valley, triggered a wave of public revulsion, the army felt empowered enough to launch a major offensive against the Taliban in the area. Government forces flushed the militants out of the scenic valley, but failed to capture or kill the movement's senior leaders. (AP)

Psy's 'Gangnam Style' stalls on Billboard

"Gangnam Style," an ultra-popular song by South Korean rapper Psy, again failed to reach the summit of the Billboard chart this week.

"Style" stayed behind Maroon 5's "One More Night" for the third consecutive week in the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard.com announced Wednesday.

"Again, the race was extremely close," Billboard said.

The overall chart point gap widened to 700, however, from fewer than 500 in the previous week.

Billboard said it's still too early to cross out "Style" from the list of No. 1 candidates.

"Well, look on the bright side, Psy: it's getting a bit chilly outside to go shirtless, anyway," it said.

"The radio life of 'Style' is still in its earlier stages, so it doesn't sport the massive audience level of 'Night,'" it added. "Still, 'Style' surges by 22% to 56 million."

Psy stated that he would go topless to perform "Style" in front of crowds if it tops Billboard. (Yonhap News)

N. Korean tour suspension incurs losses of 2 trillion won

The stalled tour to the North Korean resort of Mount Kumgang has incurred losses of more than 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) to South Korean companies and government for the past four years, a lawmaker said Thursday.

According to Rep. Jun Byung-hun of the opposition Democratic United Party, Hyundai Asan Corp., the former operator of the tour, other related firms and a local government have suffered a combined

2.3 trillion won in losses since the tour program was suspended in July 2008 and North Korea subsequently froze assets in the resort.

Hyundai Asan lost a total of 1.4 trillion won from the suspension of the tour program, while it also led to losses of 331.8 billion won for other smaller companies.

Hyundai Asan was guaranteed exclusive operating rights by Pyongyang in the late 1990s and launched an overland tour program to Mount Kumgang in 2003. Nearly 2 million South Koreans visited the mountain resort since the tours began in 1998.

The project was halted after a South Korean female tourist was shot dead in 2008 and put on ice as the South demanded a formal apology for the incident.

The point of departure for the tour, Goseong County, some 466 kilometers east of Seoul, was also hit by the suspension, said Lee.

The local government lost 142.1 billion won and suffered a decline in the number of visitors from 6.21 million in 2007 to 4.83 million in 2011.

The state-run Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) suffered 90 billion won in losses due to the North‘s asset seizure and a sales loss of 10.6 billion won. The KTO also should pay 2.24 billion won in interest on loans from the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund, according to the lawmaker. (Yonhap News)

Son finds net in Hamburg win

Bayern Munich beat Hoffenheim 2-0 for its seventh straight Bundesliga victory, with Franck Ribery scoring both goals. Bayern is off to its best start since 1995 and has won 10 of 11 matches in all competitions.

Hamburger SV won 1-0 at Greuther Fuerth on a goal by Son Heung-min. Promoted Fortuna Duesseldorf lost its first match of the season, going down 1-0 with 10 men at Mainz.

Freiburg routed Nuremberg 3-0 to hand the visitors their fourth straight loss. Schalke beat Wolfsburg 3-0 as Felix Magath’s team remained next to last in the Bundesliga.

On Sunday, undefeated Eintracht Frankfurt visits Borussia Moenchengladbach, and defending champion Borussia Dortmund travels to Hannover and Stuttgart hosts Bayer Leverkusen.

Hamburg’s Son Heung-min celebrates his goal on Saturday. (AP-Yonhap News)

England

Chelsea extended its Premier League lead with a 4-1 victory over Norwich on Saturday while defending champion Manchester City climbed to second place by beating Sunderland 3-0.

Chelsea rallied after Grant Holt scored for Norwich in the 11th minute. Fernando Torres, Frank Lampard and Eden Hazard scored before halftime and Branislav Ivanovic added a late goal.

Chelsea leads the league by four points and is off to its best start since the 2005-06 season. City rose to second after goals from Aleksandar Kolarov, Sergio Aguero and James Milner.

Everton slipped to third after being held to a 2-2 draw by Wigan. West Bromwich Albion maintained its strong start with a 3-2 victory over last-place Queens Park Rangers.

Spain

Ten-man Getafe beat nine-man Real Zaragoza 1-0 on a penalty kick from Diego Castro for its first road victory of the Spanish league season. Ndri Romaric left host Zaragoza a player down in the ninth minute when he was shown a red card for a knee-high tackle on Mehdi Lacen.

Alvaro Gonzalez was ejected in the second half for tripping Getafe’s Pedro Leon in front of goal. Castro made the penalty kick in the 69th-minute. Getafe’s Abdelaziz Barrada was sent off for a tackle on Jose Maria Martin in the 84th.

Oscar Gonzalez scored with a header in the 82nd minute for Valladolid to escape with a 1-1 home draw against 10-man Espanyol. Rayo Vallecano netted twice in the first half to beat visiting Deportivo La Coruna 2-1.

On Sunday, league-leader Barcelona looks for a club-record seventh win in seven games at the start of the season when it hosts Real Madrid.

Swansea City’s Ki Sung-yueng (left) and Reading’s Nicky Shorey challenge for the ball on Saturday. The match ended in a 2-2 draw. (AP-Yonhap News)

France

Saber Khlifa scored a hat trick, sending Evian to a 3-2 victory at defending champion Montpellier in the French league.

The win moved Evian out of the relegation zone.

Reims moved into fourth place, beating Nice 3-1 at home thanks to two late goals from substitute Gaetan Courtet.

Toulouse drew 2-2 with Valenciennes, coming back from two goals down to secure seventh place. (AP)

Director Chung returns with graphic torture drama

A scene from Chung Ji-young’s latest film “National Security.” (Hohoho Beach)

‘Unbowed’ director says he wants presidential candidates to see his latest work, which recounts torture suffered by late democracy activist Kim Geun-tae

BUSAN ― After highly controversial courtroom drama “Unbowed,” director Chung Ji-young has returned with another socially conscious, politically themed drama inspired by the true story of late politician and democracy activist Kim Geun-tae.

In spite of its serious subject matter, last year’s “Unbowed” was often comical and humorous. Yet Chung’s latest movie, unveiled to the press on Saturday during BIFF, is a graphic torture drama filled with violence and injustice. Almost anyone would find the film very hard to sit through. But director Chung wants as many viewers as possible to see the film, especially the current presidential candidates.

Director Chung Ji-young listens to a reporter’s question during a press conference promoting his latest film “National Security” at Centum City Shinsegae in Busan on Saturday. (Yonhap News)

“Yes, I do want to invite the candidates,” the director said during a press conference on Saturday.

“I don’t know if they’ll accept my invitation, but I’d really like them to watch this movie. It deals with the history that we must overcome in order to move on to the future.”

The film, titled “National Security” (called “Namyeong-dong 1985” in Korean), is based on late politician Kim’s arrest and torture at the infamous Namyeong-dong detention center during Chun Doo-hwan’s military regime. The film successfully serves its obvious purpose ― to let its viewers witness the horrors experienced by pro-democracy activists in the ’80s.

Actor Park Won-sang, who starred as the fierce and folksy lawyer in “Unbowed,” plays Kim Jong-tae, a stand-in for the real-life Kim Geun-tae. The movie follows Kim’s days in the detention center, as he gets accused of being a pro-North Korean communist and eventually endures all sorts of hard-to-watch torture.

“I gave the character his own name because it wasn’t just late Kim Geun-tae who went through what he went through at the time,” Chung told reporters. “In fact I interviewed a lot of people who were tortured during the time period while preparing for this film.”

In the beginning, Kim is ordered to write about his life in detail. He cannot sleep nor eat until he finishes. When Kim fiercely denies he is a communist, and stresses that his pro-democracy activism against the military regime has no links with North Korea, a “torture expert” named Lee Doo-han (Lee Kyeong-yeong) is called in. Lee’s character is based on real-life figure Lee Geun-an, who tortured late Kim as well as other prisoners at the detention center.

Lee first does waterboarding, to the degree that Kim vomits and eventually loses consciousness. He later administers electric shocks and forces him to swallow chili powder with water. Lee makes sure Kim does not get any external scars, and that he is not killed. Actor Lee Kyeong-yeong is impressive playing the sadistic villain, who would do anything ordered by his superiors.

Lee’s young followers are aware of the injustice, but choose to do nothing about it. Although they witness the violence Kim endures every day, they only care about their own lives. One of them is devastated because his girlfriend is breaking up with him, while the other man is anxious because he does not want to miss baseball on the radio.

“We chose the kind of chili powder that was not so spicy,” said actor Park, who jokingly thanked his parents for giving him such “healthy genes” that helped him pull off shooting the film.

Late Kim Geun-tae stayed active in Korea’s political scene after he was released from the center. He was one of the supporters of Roh Moo-hyun, who became president in 2002. Kim served as Health and Welfare Minister during Roh’s presidency from 2004 to 2005. He suffered from Parkinson’s disease, which may have been caused by his torture, as well as severe post-traumatic stress disorder. He died from complications of Parkinson’s in 2011 at age 64.

Veteran actors Moon Sung-keun and Myeong Gye-nam, who are well known as supporters of late President Roh Moo-hyun, also appear in the movie as cruel officers of the military regime. Moon, who served as the interim leader of Democratic United Party in 2011, also starred as the unjust judge in “Unbowed.”

Director Chung said he hasn’t found a distributor for the film. The film is scheduled to be released later this year.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)

Ahn’s policy package

Clearer vision for political reform needed

Independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo has unveiled his first package of policy ideas for state affairs to shed light on his vision for political reform.

The measures are belated but welcome, given that voters have felt uncomfortable over a lack of concrete policies outlining his philosophy since the software mogul-turned-professor-turned-politician announced his bid for the presidency in mid-September.

As part of his efforts to push ahead with political reform, Ahn said he would limit the powers of the president, noting that the absolute power of the head of state has been the root cause of corruption. Specifically, he said the number of presidential appointees will be cut to fewer than 1,000 from the current 10,000 and the presidential mansion of Cheong Wa Dae will be relocated to a place in Seoul with greater public access.

According to the package, the National Assembly will be given the right to nominate the chief of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) and an independent agency will be created to investigate corruption cases implicating the president’s family members, close confidants and high-ranking officials. Presidential pardons would be granted only after approval by the National Assembly.

Ahn, 50, pledged to expand the government’s unit for small- and medium-sized companies and stop building new nuclear power plants. In acute contrast to President Lee Myung-bak’s hard-line policy toward North Korea, he promised closer cooperation and dialogue with Pyongyang. He also spoke on foreign policy, labor, welfare and education.

His first policy pledges drew mixed reactions depending on whether the appraisers were conservative or liberal but in general, they are judged to be lacking in substance and action plans. For example, what substantial effects could people expect from merely moving Cheong Wa Dae to another location in Seoul? Analysts said the move would just result in wasting taxpayers’ money.

Of course, it is encouraging that he raised the need to reduce the president’s powers, considering that the “imperial presidential system’’ has often been blamed for a lot of past wrongdoings involving presidents and their relatives. But it’s disappointing that his vision for new politics was devoid of concrete measures to reform the political parties, which form the backbone of the representative democracy system. Taking into consideration that he is an independent candidate with no party affiliation, this is all the more worrisome.

Most problematic is that his concept of political reform or new politics is still abstract. The main opposition Democratic United Party’s comment is quite suggestive: “(Ahn’s package) is still theoretical and remains at the level of embracing people’s desire abstractly.’’

It would be irresponsible if Ahn and his supporters brand the existing political system as old and outmoded, then cash in on the blind distrust of voters and their disappointment with the political establishment.

With less than 70 days before the December presidential election, Ahn should come up with a clearer vision for political reform and other agendas and this should be illustrated in the form of substantial policies and legislative bills.