South Korean peoples wrath and indignation against the anti-popular and anti-national governance of Lee Myung Bak are soaring high. In reflection of the public sentiment, the south Korean newspapers, broadcasts and websites carry articles, cartoons and video clips.
Wok
The Joong-Ang Ilbo online newspaper carried an article on a wok related with successive
presidents. It reads: Syngman Rhee bought a wok by getting a loan from the US, Park Chung
Hee cooked in the wok rice he had farmed, Choi Kyu-hah tried to open its lid to eat the cooked
rice but only burned his hand, Chun Doo Hwan ate it all, and Roh Tae Woo ate the scorched part
of the rice even by steeping it. Kim Young Sam scraped the bottom of the wok to see if there was
anything left and, when a hole was made in it, he exchanged the wok for toffee. Lee Myung Bak
tried to repair the electric cooker his predecessor had bought by borrowing money from this and
that countries, putting it on a fire and fanning the fire enthusiastically, only to break it up
completely.
This article makes a mockery of Lee Myung Bak¡Çs attempt for ¡Economic recovery. When canvassing for the presidential election, Lee made a commitment of ¡È747,¡É as if he would revitalize the economy. The south Korean people say that it has now become a commitment for 447 with the unemployed numbering 4 million, national debt reaching 400 trillion won and total debt of individuals amounting to 700 trillion won. Towards the end of 2009, a website operated by women organized an election for the candidate of the ¡Mouth most wanted to stitch up, the mouth which spits the most hated words and the greatest lies; the result showed that Lee Myung Bak s mouth was the first candidate.
Bulldozer
Some south Korean publications carried a cartoon of Lee Myung Bak in Nazi uniform and with the Hitler-style moustache driving a bulldozer madly.
Throwing off the veil of ¡Democracy¡É after seizing power, Lee Myung Bak reinforced the
police and gave them a green light to reuse electric clubs, water cannons and other means of
suppression handed down from the preceding dictatorial regimes. In 2008 large-scale candlelight
rallies against the import of American beef met with a brutal crackdown. So did the campaigns
of various circles calling for revision of trade union law, stabilization of rice price and annulment of the Free Trade Agreement between south Korea and the US.
Campaigners dub the Lee regime as a resurgence of the spectre of dictatorship, denouncing
that Lee¡Çs is cannibal politics and terror politics laden with brutality and desperation. From late
May to early July 2011, more than 400 campaigns were staged against the present regime, with
the attendance of 600 000 people from a total of 1 300 organizations.
Golf Cart Driver
Lee Myung Bak was nicknamed ¡Golf cart driver¡É after his trip to the US in April 2008, his
first foreign visit following his assumption of power, for having served the then US President
Bush by driving the latter¡Çs golf cart at Camp David.
Upon taking office Lee had permitted the import of American beef running the risk of spreading mad cow disease, which gave rise to massive candlelight rallies throughout south Korea. Posted on Internet homepages from south Korea were cartoons portraying Lee kowtowing to his American master and ads introducing his regime as a south Korean agency of the imaginary Mad Cow Co., Ltd. headquartered in the US. Even on the homepages of the Blue House and the ruling Grand National Party were found articles, ridiculing Lee, ¡You have craved for cheap, high-quality beef, and we wish that you will relish American beef at every meal during your five-year term
Commenting on Lee currying favour with his American master and making two bows to the Japanese emperor, the south Korean media described him as a lapdog servile to the US and courteous to Japan, and therefore a good-for-nothing for the nation.
Lame Duck
A south Korean weekly magazine carried a cartoon titled For You, Duck Is Better than
Chicken, in which a representative of the Grand National Party offers a lame duck (the emblem
of Lee approaching his Waterloo) to the ruler who is devouring K chicken(a symbol of
corruption).
The purport of the cartoon is that the incumbent ruler is despised even within his ruling party.
A former representative of the Grand National Party declared that he is no longer a follower
of Lee, adding that now it is not the time for people to follow the ¡President¡É only. Even
National Assemblymen from the ruling party blame Lee of clinging to his flawed policy,
demanding alteration of policy by the party s leading role. In particular they lambaste Lee for
freezing inter-Korean relations, calling for flexibility on the part of the government and
Breakthrough in the deadlock.
Lee Myung Bak is driven into a tighter corner by the disclosure of his speculation in real
estate and the detainment or investigation of his aides and relatives on charges of bribery and
embezzlement.
The south Korean media assert that Lee should be put on public trial, noting that the present
regime smells nasty and it has gotten what it deserves.
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