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Commenting on the ruling party's crushing defeat in Wednesday's by-elections, the president said he accepted that the result was in effect a verdict on his government. The chief executive asked the ruling party to try not to be shaken by the outcome and focus on the parliamentary session instead.
When the ruling party disastrously lost in all 23 seats up for grabs in the April 30 by-elections, Cheong Wa Dae appeared to be shifting the responsibility to the ruling party, saying since the presidential office was separate from the party, it was inappropriate to comment on the election results. Fortunately the president has broken with tradition by accepting Wednesday¡¯s outcome as mea culpa.
Now he must take the next step. That he sees the party¡¯s crushing defeat as a public verdict suggests his government has so far been wrong and will now be set right. If that interpretation matches the president's intentions, he might in the order of things also be expected to say where and how it went wrong.
A few days ago, the president made the self-assessment that the administration "has accomplished more than expected in diplomatic matters." The prime minister, whom the chief executive entrusts with a considerable portion of the national administration, said the country has been placed ¡°on a stable foundation," and the economy will improve starting in the latter half of the year. In the sorry matter of the justice minister's order not to arrest Prof. Kang Jeong-koo for inflammatory pro-Pyongyang remarks, the entire ruling camp rose up like a swarm of hornets against those who said this undermined the political neutrality of the prosecution, denouncing the criticism as redolent of the ¡°ghosts of Yushin¡±-- after the ideology that dominated the oppressive latter part of Park Chung-hee¡¯s rule.
The president¡¯s remark that he accepts the by-election results as the public's verdict on his government therefore makes one curious to hear more. Government and ruling party officials who assist the chief executive in the government will be receptive to the specific signals the president will send.
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