President-elect Roh Moo-hyun revealed Monday his ideas for the next administration's organizational framework in which a 'reform president' and 'stable prime minister' would harmonize together. President-elect Roh also met with President Kim Dae-jung to discuss the transition of government and formation of a team to accomplish this.

It is desirable for both the new president and prime minister to have separate roles, since the next administration's reform image can be complemented by pursuing cabinet stability. As Roh confessed, many people have mixed hopes and concerns on him, as he has not had much administrative experience, while advocating reform and change. Due to that, it would be necessary for Roh to provide a certain amount of discretion to the next cabinet in order to obtain stable trust from the people.

However, above all, it would be very essential to guarantee the constitutional rights of the prime minister in order to effectively manage the partial change of roles of the president and prime minister. Preparing for a worst-case scenario if the president should fight with the prime minister, some concrete plans and systematical devices should be made in advance.

Furthermore, during the race, Roh promised a possible birth of a 'cohabitation administration' if the opposition party maintains its majority in the 2004 General Election. If this really happens, the contemporary generation will be observing an astonishing experiment in Korean politics, while confirming Roh's political promise. However, if the next administration tries to amend the election law to prevent such worst situation for them, or concentrates only upon a winning strategy for the 2004 General Election, it will bring turmoil to political circles and the operation of the government. A careful approach is recommended.

December 24, 2002