Prime Minister Lee Hai-chan 'Don't be cheeky, Chosun and Dong-A!' Uri Party Chairman Blasts Conservative Newspapers

Despite attempts by his aides to restrain him, Lee poured out without reserve expressions like, "Chosun, Dong-A, don't plot against history," and "The Chosun and Dong-A are in the palm of my hand."

Lee, on an official visit to Berlin, Germany, held an interview with the foreign correspondents of Yonhap, MBC, KBS and Joongang Ilbo, with reporters from the Chosun Ilbo in accompaniment. At the interview-drinking table, Lee suddenly began letting loose uninhibited criticism of the Chosun Ilbo and Dong-A Ilbo.

The prime minister, who was quite fancy with his words, avoiding specific comment when sensitive questions about issues like North Korea collapse scenarios were raised, could not suppress his excitement when a question about the media.

Lee was indignant, saying, "Chosun, Dong-A, don't plot against history. Don't play with this administration. Both President Roh and I will fight you to the end."

He said, "The Chosun is behind the times. The Chosun and Dong-A are in my hand." Without hesitation, he said, "Don't think you yourselves can take and shake this nation. Don't pretend you have power, and don't distort history."

He also said, "Do you know how much the Dong-A Ilbo has attacked me? I read the Chosun Ilbo every morning, but the Chosun has never written anything that accords with the flow of history."

About the Joongang Ilbo, Lee said, "In the flow of history, the Joongang Ilbo seems to be finding the middle."

The prime minister, who was in an excitable state following his tough forced-march itinerary and several beer-whiskey boilermakers, could not suppress his flushed appearance. At first, he tried to avoid comment from some reporters' questions, but as tough questions began following one after another, he could not hold back his excitement, and soon it was almost as if he was the only one doing the talking.

Despite the efforts of an aide sitting beside the prime minister to restrain him, Lee continued his criticism, saying, "I will never forgive the Chosun Ilbo. Even if the Chosun makes unreasonable remarks, I won't pay attention."

He said, "I didn't call for just the National Security Law to be abolished, but also called for a replacement security law and amending of the criminal code, but the Chosun Ilbo distorted this in its reports."

He said, "We must recognize the free market system, but we must also recognize those that drop out. We must protect the socially weak for the basic order of freedom." He also said, "If you look at us using the European standard, we are center right."

He criticized, "The Roh administration privatized KT and POSCO, and is solving the LG-Caltex situation according to principle. The Chosun Ilbo thinks we are a socialist administration, and calls us pro-communist and makes ideological issues at the drop of a hat."

Concerning some opinion that the administration has grown more conservative, Lee revealed a cautious side, "You have to run the nation slightly conservatively. If you went far to the right, there would be a lot of people who would like it, but the nation's potential would decline."

Lee stressed, "If you do things the Grand National Party's way, history would move backwards. If you oppose aid to North Korea like the GNP, North Korea would collapse. We don't want a sudden collapse of North Korea... You have to work for the development of history, not distort history for yourself."

As if to put in order once again his comments, Lee said after the interview, his voice growing louder, "In compromising, we will not accede to unjust requests from conservative forces. We will not accede to unjust requests. Ethically, we will never go astray... We will never submit to distorted broadcasts from the conservative media."

Officials who attended the event expressed regret, saying, "He's the prime minister, not a lawmaker, and he was unable to show reserve about expressing the tension between his administration and the Korean media during a foreign visit."

(engishnews@chosun.com )