hankyoreh

The head of public relations at the presidential office stirred controversy on November 10 by posting on the Blue House Web site an advisory against purchasing homes amid the current surge in housing prices.

With this incident, the role and function of the presidential official Internet site has been thrown into question. Within the Blue House, there are claims that the site, which has caused political and social debate during the present Roh Moo-hyun administration, should be completely reformatted.

A chief official in the presidential office said that "the ’Cheong Wa Dae Briefing,’ which was introduced by the Participatory Government to properly inform the public of President Roh Moo-hyun’s philosophy and policies in a hostile media environment, has become a target of people’s criticism by doggedly maintaining the position of the presidential office and making one-sided arguments irrelevant to national sentiments. It has a tendency to incite excessive political debate. The Blue House is seriously discussing ways to reestablish its status," he added, asking not to be named.

The Blue House had already begun to discuss changes in its online briefing since July. The "Cheong Wa Dae Briefing" was designed as an "alternative medium" to convey exactly the government’s policies to the public. The site was constructed in response to South Korea’s conservative media, which consistently takes issue with the government’s main policies.

But the site may have brought more controversy than clarity.

A core official at the presidential office said the problem with the site is that "public relations secretaries lacking expertise in certain areas are still given the ability to post [opinion pieces] on sensitive political issues." It is possible that in the future, the Web site will merely play the role of informing citizens of the government’s policies, he said.

[englishhani@hani.co.kr]