"Few would deny that a more fundamental cause of Lee's political crisis was public distrust of some ethically problematic members of the cabinet and their mistaken handling of overall administrative affairs, including the administration's excessively friendly polices towards the US and large conglomerates," South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said in an article Tuesday.
The article, bylined by Yoo Cheong-mo, said "The seeds of the political crisis were sown even prior to his inauguration in late February, as the president filled almost all his cabinet and secretarial posts with people with academic, regional and religious connections to him."
Police place South Korean flags on cargo containers that hold sand to form a barricade to block a planned protest march on a street leading to the US embassy and the presidential Blue House in central Seoul June 10, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Moreover, "many of the cabinet ministers and senior presidential secretaries were found to be involved in ethically and legally problematic real-estate transactions years ago," the article added.
Yet, some Chinese experts on Korean issues seem to consider South Korean farmers' strong resentment against the government's policy that caused them considerable economic losses as the primary cause for the cabinet's resignation.
