Well so much for President Lee’s big canal idea:

President Lee Myung-bak said yesterday that he will not push forward the construction of a cross-country grand canal during his term of office, in an attempt to end the controversy and focus the administration’s energy on other programs.

The public had not shown much support for the idea, which was one of Lee’s key election pledges in 2007.

In his radio address to the nation, aired yesterday morning, Lee said he had envisioned the construction of the 540-kilometer (335.5-mile) canal connecting Seoul and Busan when he was a businessman, long before his political career began.

“As a matter of fact, in 1996 when I served as a lawmaker in the 15th National Assembly, I proposed to the government that the grand waterway be constructed at all costs. Thus, the project became the centerpiece of my presidential campaign pledges,” Lee said.

“Despite all this, I made myself clear that I would not pursue the Grand Waterway Project unless it was backed by a public consensus. That is because I knew there would be a risk of it emerging as a politically contentious issue causing a split in public opinion.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

This is one idea from Lee Myung-bak that I am glad got canned.