Roh Defends Himself Against ... ME!

Noh Moo-Hyun is one of the worst presidents I've seen in my lifetime. Here he tries to convince me (ok, everyone) otherwise:

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200608/200608310021.html

Roh said the game arcade scandal “was caused by several complicated, connected reasons such as systemic faults and industrial deregulation policies and lax policing of gambling. It is difficult to deal with the case since a cluster of several small problems have combined into one big scandal.” He vowed to reveal on a different occasion what steps the government is taking. Roh waited 12 days to apologize after the gambling scandal broke on Aug. 19

Not one mention of his nephew? Of his "talent supporter's" leading role? What kind of appology is this?

Roh suggested the overall economy and people’s economic difficulties should be talked about separately. He said macroeconomic indicators including exports, prices and foreign reserves were strong and the stock market more than doubled during his tenure. “But even when our economy is doing well, people can find themselves in economic trouble,” he said, due to the growing wealth gap in a globalized era and a surge in the number of temporary jobs and small businesses.

I call BS. Sure the stockmarket is up, and I have little doubt that it is a result of his policies, but can anyone tell me the last time they heard lower income workers bragging about making money in the market? The truth is, Noh's family is heavily invested in the market and they are raking it in. I have no doubt this will come to light after he is out of office.

He also reiterated a class-conscious justification for the government’s controversial real estate policy. “Everyone wants to see housing prices rise, but if they do, those with smaller homes will lose out,” the president said, adding the hope that there will not be too much resistance to the policy. “There were those who raised the toast, ‘Let it be forever!’ during the financial crisis of the late 90s when our economy was in serious trouble,” he said. “They were not ordinary middle class people” -- an apparent suggestion that the rich benefited from the high interest rates during the crisis.

Wow, nice to try to sound like you're taking the working man's side, but what are you doing? I wokr in Seoul Station every day and things have only gotten worse! Noh has redistributed the wealth alright, right into the pockets of his supporters.

The president also rejected accusations of cronyism in his personnel appointments. “The administration has much improved in managing personnel affairs” from its predecessors, he said. “People keep taking issue when someone close to me is appointed to high office, but it’s only natural that I choose someone who understands my policy well.” He warned if the criticism refuses to go away, “it will make it very difficult to manage administrative affairs.” He added pointing out glaring errors in personnel appointments was fine, but constant griping was “inappropriate.”

He cannot keep a minister for longer than 6 months before they mess something up. He is surrounded by inexperience and idealism - a bad combination. here is a nice enough to give an old drunk friend a job:
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200608/30/200608302216172279900090309031.html
Nice to know who is at the wheel of the Unification Ministry.

Turning to the question of Korea taking over sole operational control of its forces, the chief executive said the core of independent defense was “physical military force.” “We headhunt the most suitable Korean candidate, not a foreigner, when selecting the president or the chief of general staff,” he said. “That is the basic principle of managing a nation.” Roh reiterated the plan to “withdraw” wartime operational control of Korean troops from the U.S. was already hatched during the Roh Tae-woo administration, while the target date of 2000 was set by the Kim Young-sam government. “The Grand National Party shouldn’t oppose the plan just for opposition’s sake,” he added.

This I am not opposed to. I think it is becoming too much of a political issue, where it should be a defense one. All parties involved need to let the experts figure it out...

They just have to figure out who the experts are.