President Lee Jae-myung is delivering his New Year's address at Cheong Wa Dae on January 1st. [Photo: Yonhap News]

The New Year's address delivered by the president, who has been at the center of various controversies since taking office, is being described as closer to a statement reserving responsibility rather than one that outlines the direction of state affairs.

While words like "leap," "transition," and "tangible for the people" were repeatedly used throughout the speech, a clear judgment on what to choose, based on what criteria, and what responsibilities would be taken, was ultimately absent.

The absence of judgment in a political speech is not neutrality.

More important than declaring what will be done is the choice of what to abandon and what resistance to endure.

However, this New Year's address completely failed to mention △ policy priorities, △ items to be halted or adjusted, or △ decisions that would entail political costs. While directions were suggested, no decisive action was taken; visions were listed, but the responsible parties were blurred.

The president presented "five major measures" in his New Year's address, but these proposals are also being criticized for lacking novelty.

△ Balanced regional development, △ inclusive growth, △ safety, △ culture, and △ peace are policy themes that have been repeatedly discussed for years.

The problem is not the familiarity of the themes themselves, but the absence of judgment on why these themes need to be pursued at this particular moment and in what manner. Numbers were attached, but no trace of selection was evident.

This kind of New Year's address ultimately aligns with his governing style, which structurally leads to a disconnect between words and actions.

If judgments are not explicitly stated, implementation is dispersed among bureaucratic organizations, and policy actions become averaged out.

The president's pronouncements may grow louder, but the actual policy changes by the government become minimal, and the subjects of responsibility for successes and failures become obscured.

The positioning of "tangible for the people" as a benchmark for performance is also interpreted as a mechanism to maintain flexibility in evaluation and responsibility.

The most important virtue in politics is not persuasion or rhetoric, but judgment.

Judgment inevitably breeds conflict and demands costs. However, this New Year's address chose language that reserves responsibility by leaving all possibilities open, rather than demonstrating a willingness to bear those costs.

As a result, the speech was long, but the standards for state affairs became even less visible.

A New Year's address is the starting point for a year of state administration.

The absence of judgment at this starting point foretells the possibility of repeated discrepancies between words and actions in future state affairs.

This is why the New Year's address is being read not as a declaration of vision, but as a signal of evading responsibility. It is pointed out that the president's task for the new year is not more words, but clearer judgment.

By Reporter Kim Young