Well it looks like Lee Myung-bak’s canal project is DOA:
South Korea’s Transportation Ministry said Thursday work commissioned to verify the feasibility of constructing a controversial cross-country canal network has been halted,
The move comes right after President Lee Myung-bak said in a press conference that he is willing to give up building the waterway system, which would link the country’s major rivers, if the Korean people oppose it. [Yonhap]
I am not surprised by this announcement considering the political opposition on other issues Lee Myung-bak is currently facing. I do have to wonder if this will make Green Korea shut up? I doubt it. I also have to wonder where all the money budgeted for this project will go if officially cancelled? If President Lee is serious about supporting the US-ROK Alliance, he should use the saved money to pay for the USFK relocation expenses.
Popularity: 2%
2:53 am on June 27th, 2008 1
If I were Lee, I might flip a coin and depending on how it lands - go back and really implement the quickly abandoned idea of scrapping the Unification Ministry…
It’s a gambling move:
the GNP still have the major upper hand due to the last couple of elections. Lee has one and only one term. Now that the society and opposition, including within his own party, played hard and kept raising the stakes until he had to fold, he might ought to come back hard and strong himself with the hand he has.
He bowed in front of the people multiple times. He caved on the beef issue for the most part. He is giving up the canal. Maybe he should bank on the idea that the society is now ready for him to have some good news for awhile. They did - in fact - reshape the government from what it was since 1998 in the last couple of elections. That has to mean they are more in tune with the GNP than its opponents.
If I were Lee, given that I only have one term, I might take this lull as an opportunity to assert some key, lasting policy initiative I had in mind before coming to office. Even if it means a long, protracted fight, I’d start it now…
10:44 am on June 27th, 2008 2
I think 2MB is going to be politically neutered for quite some time and I fully expect the anti-US groups to utilize the cost sharing, camp pollution, and Camp Humphreys relocation issue to go after USFK with.
When they do this 2MB is probably not going to do much to stop the obstructionism of these groups because of what happened when he sided with the US on the beef deal plus the fact the Korean government doesn’t want the relocation to happen themselves.
With issues like this looming I just don’t see 2MB being able to accomplish much. What he needs to stick with is the privatization laws he is trying to pass and advocating for the FTA which I think is probably DOA but the privitization laws have a chance.
8:27 pm on June 27th, 2008 3
The Grand Canal scheme was a “vision” project that never took off. You remember those don’t you? Kennedy had his “fly me to the moon” vision? LBJ’s “Great Society” b.s.? Etc.
The only problem is that LMB is not a great communicator like Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton or Obama. He couldn’t make people see his “vision” — and because of that he tried to shove it through and when that failed he tried to backdoor it. Part of his present problems comes from this project. Even I as a stupid American said it stunk — almost as much as the grand vision of the Saemangeum project back in Kim Young-sam’s day which I’ve always said was lunacy.
USinKorea: “If I were Lee, I might flip a coin and depending on how it lands - go back and really implement the quickly abandoned idea of scrapping the Unification Ministry…”
I don’t think he has given up on that idea. However, he first needs to get the GNP and conservatives into the National Assembly which has been stalled since 30 May. I believe it will pop up — but he needs to get politically healthy first. He has stepped on a lot of conservative toes and he needs to kiss a lot of rears to try to mend the fences. Personally I think the scars are too deep, but the Unification Ministry demise is an agreed on conservative idea so it may be able to get through.
As to privatization, LMB needs to back off a bit. Everyone is losing jobs and the fears are that privatization will increase unemployment. Whether that is true or not, it is the perception of the people. This has been something that the IMF wanted done back in 1997 and the ROK agreed to it when they took the bail-out money — but then weaseled out of it under Kim Dae-jung/Roh Moo-hyun. Why not wait a little more until the political waters warm up a bit? However, I agree that it should be done simply because of all the abuses committed in all these public companies over the years. If its your own money you’re wasting, they would operate more efficiently.
Well…back to sleep.
3:04 am on June 28th, 2008 4
Pull the USA OUT!!!!!!!!! f*#@ THE DAKS!!!!!! And lets use our money to benifit our military and America not the Koreans.
Mike
10:42 am on June 28th, 2008 5
Good news. The canal was always a terrible idea.
11:50 am on June 29th, 2008 6
12:14 pm on December 1st, 2008 7
[...] Korean president may not get his canal built in Korea but it looks like he may get a canal built in Jordan of all [...]