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President Lee Myung-bak accepted the recommendation of the KBS board and sacked the president of the state-run broadcaster. KBS regulations stipulate that a new president must be appointed within a month. Cheong Wa Dae, which has the power to appoint or dismiss the president of KBS, said it would select a new chief after the board recommends a suitable candidate following a broad search.
One look at outgoing KBS president Jung Yun-joo shows exactly what kind of person the new head should be. Jung was appointed KBS president simply because he shared the same ideology as the former president. It was probably a foregone conclusion that such a person would turn a public network into a faithful tool of the administration and its leftwing ideology. In other words, the new president must not be appointed simply because he or she is close to the president.
It was impossible for Jung to pursue unpopular reforms such as streamlining and restructuring the bloated KBS, since he was busy turning it into a tool for government propaganda. Jung drove a money-making network into deficit and gave staff a raise, pushing up the average annual salary to more than W80 million (US$1=W1,032). The new KBS president must be someone who can implement painful restructuring at KBS to make sure it no longer burdens the taxpayer. The only way to overcome internal resistance to such restructuring is to appoint a president in a fair and transparent process.
Jung was a novice in the field of broadcasting. And with such an inexperienced individual at the head, KBS simply focused on protecting its monopoly of the public airwaves and making a comfortable living while the global broadcast industry was advancing rapidly in terms of technology. The new head of KBS must be someone with expert knowledge and firm beliefs in this field. It goes without saying that he or she must be independent of the administration.
As he approved the recommendation of the KBS board, President Lee said the state-run broadcaster must be ¡°born again.¡± If that is to happen, the president must appoint someone who is competent and completely different than Jung. But the reality is that there is no confidence that such a fair and objective appointment can take place.
This administration has caused controversy with every appointment but has proved unable to change. Members of the first Cabinet were criticized over their sense of ethics even before their confirmation hearings, and three ministerial candidates dropped out even before they were officially appointed. One presidential secretary had to tender her resignation almost immediately after being appointed, but the entire line up of chief secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae was riddled with problems. The top office appointed a wealthy restaurant owner in another country as a diplomat, but had to recall him.
The president says he intends to choose the heads of state-run companies from a pool of capable CEOs from the private sector. In reality, such selections are made among people who worked in his election office or who failed to get nominated by the Grand National Party for a National Assembly seat. Officials who had been sacked for mistakes are appointed as ambassadors less than two months after they were fired, while the chief prosecutor who cleared Lee of involvement in an investment scam last year is given a job at the presidential office. There are no standards in the selection of officials, and what¡¯s worse, there is no concern what impact such appointments are having on public sentiment.
The fundamental reason for this problem appears to be the president¡¯s view of the state of the nation. Korea stands at a crossroads after 10 years of leftwing administrations. At this juncture, an administration, voted into office with the hope of propelling the country forward has virtually collapsed even before it has been able to start its engines. At this rate, the administration may end up regressing rather than taking the country forward. And the biggest reason is the failed appointments of key officials by the Lee administration.
If the president has grasped the gravity of the situation, then he should not keep doing this. So far, the problems with key appointments involved people who were closely linked with the president in one way or another. If he continues to appoint officials by putting more weight on connections rather than the problems facing the country, it will be impossible for him to face the challenges for Korea.
It must be tempting for the president to appoint a trusted confidant to the top spot at KBS. But if he is to give his administration a chance to start anew, he must use this appointment to stop the vicious cycle. That is the only way that the public will be convinced. It is up to the president whether the KBS appointment will serve as an opportunity or just another crisis.
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