When he faced a high wave of public protests over the U.S. beef import issue in 2008, the just-inaugurated President Lee Myung-bak vowed to enhance “public communication.” The president had a painful recognition that the arrogance from having earned the highest supporting rate in recent elections had quickly turned the people away from the new administration. About the harm of mad cow disease, the public trusted a hugely biased TV program more than the authorities’ scientific explanations.
As the new method of public communication, Lee chose to talk directly to the people. He has since spent a lot of time on air; he has delivered monthly radio-Internet speeches on national issues 57 times and made TV appearances on as many as 17 occasions to brief the people on major government policies. There were five press conferences but they were on limited subjects only. The presidential office called all these events “dialogue with the people.”
Yet another dialogue with the people is to be held this evening at the presidential office in the Blue House, broadcast live by the three terrestrial TV networks and somele channels. The whole 90-minute sesion is to be stage-managed by the presidential press office. It selected two “panelists,” who are a radio talk show host and a TV news anchorwoman.
This will be the president’s fourth TV appearance since the beginning of 2011. The first two occasions were actually the reading of New Year policy statements and the third was his report on the successful “Operation Dawn of the Gulf of Aden” on Jan. 21, which rescued all 21 crewmembers of the Samho Jewelry from Somali pirates. The president will discuss “diplomacy, national security and the economy” with the two panelists but some other issues may also be taken up, according to the presidential office.
So, by now it has become apparent that the president will skip a New Year press conference again this year but will instead hold a roundtable in which he will give answers only to questions that he would like to answer. The three-year track record of the presidential communication with the people proves that we have a head of state who does not like to hear unexpected questions from journalists who have their own agenda on national affairs different from what the Blue House believes is important.
Even before the Lee Myung-bak presidency, Korea had not established presidential press conferences in the ideal way. During the authoritarian era, questions to the president were “assigned” to chosen media representatives. Since the end of the undemocratic rule, press access to the presidential office has become easier, but successive presidents have invariably limited their exposure to the media by holding press conferences on general subjects only once or twice a year. The incumbent president is cutting this customary channel and allows the media no chance of asking him what he thinks about any dark side of his administration or what he plans to do about it.
It may be his character to be shy of encountering inquisitive journalists. But it is one of the president’s essential duties to inform the public of what is going on in his government. Through an open press conference where reporters hurl questions on unrestricted subjects, he can also be informed of what the people want to know and things they want to be done. This cannot be expected from a TV show that will be completely worked out by the presidential press secretaries, network producers and writers.
The Blue House staff asserts they have no prior knowledge of what the two panelists will ask the president. They are nave if they think anyone will believe them.
민주당에 동원대 아줌마들과 유모차들이 거리에 득실거렷다이에 논의가 없었던
이명박 정부는 대중과 소통을 약속했다 사상최고의지지율로 오른 이명박 정부는
거만함을 보였고 이거만함이 국민들로부터 멀어지게 만들엇다
걍이런 내용이네 개주당과 피디수첨은 걍 내가 씀 개주당 내용과 피디수첩말은
전혀 없다 좌좀비들아~
어느 정부나 언론을 대하는 기본 정책이 있어부린 당께^^ㅋㅋ
노시계 처럼 언론에 대못을 쳐박고 기자출입 자체를 쳐막는
그런 짓거린 안하는 구마잉^^ㅋㅋ
어느 나라에나 신문은 각자의 논조가 있어분다^^ㅋㅋㅋ
한괴뢰나 개향이나 개마이 등등은 어뜨케
해석해야 하냐고오오옹~~ㅋㅋㅋ
좌편향 + 빨갱이 = 갸덜의 논조인 거시여^^
하자가튼기 ~ ㅋ
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