More serious is that Roh faced attacks from the then opposition Grand National Party and conservatives, while Lee is being criticized not just by the opposition and the Left but from the ruling party and conservative organizations as well. Roh had leftwing newspapers and networks on his side, but Lee faces criticism from rightwing civic organizations and the conservative media too. No one will come to his rescue or support him, and his friends seem to be dropping away.

Lee must feel unfairly treated. His awkward personnel decisions and his failure to embrace the Park Geun-hye faction may not be to his credit, he may be thinking, but demands for his resignation over U.S. beef imports when there is not the slightest threat to public health may well look to him like a mere political stratagem.

But Lee is in no position to argue with the logic. Emotional discontent cannot be rationally explained away. And failure to connect with the public is always bound to be the fault of those in power.

The answer is already available. It is to restore public trust not with words but with action. To do this, Lee must show determination. The president, perhaps out of excessive confidence, tended to look down on the masses. Perhaps in retribution, the public now have no respect for him. Lee has become a sitting duck. A leader must never show contempt for the people, and he cannot afford to lose their respect.

Lee must show that he is a determined leader. He should commit himself to protecting public health and Korean livestock farmers, and pledge to take responsibility as president if a public health problem involving imported beef actually occurs. He should spell out to the public what can and cannot be re-negotiated, and make it clear that he will be responsible, as president, for the outcome.

In the meantime, there needs to be a reshuffle of key government positions. The chief executive is being attacked, and no one else is anywhere to be seen. His secretaries and ministers are all hiding, leaving the chief executive alone to take the bullets. Even if radical protesters call the president names, no one stands up for him. Such ministers and presidential secretaries are no longer useful. Distrustful of politicians and bureaucrats, Lee appointed academics and long-term associates, and for that he alone is to blame. Still, it’s not a real option for us to replace the elected president, so those responsible ministers and secretaries should leave.

Some may say what matters is how an organization is run and that the management team trust each other. For the president, however, nothing is more important than government and the trust of the public. Instead of dragging his heels on grounds that these officials have only been in office for three months, the chief executive needs to drastically weed out ministers and secretaries who are not up to the mark. If any secretaries feel this is at all a critical time for the government, they must sacrifice themselves for the sake of their master. And if illegal demonstrations continue even after that, the president should deal resolutely with them. Illegal protests and public unrest cannot carry on unchecked much longer.

The world political climate is changing rapidly, and our economy’s troubles are deepening. Energy prices are spiraling out of control; world food resources are getting scarce. We have many urgent issues to deal with, such as the Korea-U.S free trade agreement, the North Korean nuclear problem and our security. In this situation, we stumble over the U.S. beef issue, and politicians and the presidential office run idle.

The beef issue is by no means unimportant. But we cannot afford to put everything else on hold over it. We must move forward once the president has reprimanded officials and pledged before the public that the government has done its utmost. If it cannot do this, the Lee administration must seriously consider its course of action.