‘He won’t budge an inch’: South Korea’s humbled yet defiant Yoon ploughs on despite electoral drubbing

In his first public remarks since a crushing defeat in last week’s parliamentary polls, Yoon said his cabinet should ‘humbly accept the people’s will’
But critics don’t expect much contrition from the first-ever Korean president left to contend with a hostile parliament for his entire five-year term

South Korea

Park Chan-kyong

Published: 4:00pm, 16 Apr 2024

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South Korea’s embattled conservative president Yoon Suk-yeol has said he will “humbly” listen to the voice of the people – but hinted that he won’t change his policies – following a crushing defeat in the country’s parliamentary elections.

Critics remain sceptical of significant changes to Yoon’s governance style, citing his perceived obstinacy and binary “friend or foe” world view as making any compromise with opposition parties unlikely.

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“We should all humbly accept the people’s will expressed through the elections,” Yoon said in a televised statement ahead of a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, his first public remarks on the polls since they were held on April 10.

He insisted his administration had done its best to “set the right direction” and implement “many good policies”, but said it had fallen short of making enough changes to satisfy expectations for better living standards. Off camera, Yoon apparently wrapped up the cabinet meeting with an apology for this failure and called for better government communication, a senior official of the presidential office later told journalists.

“Through the remarks, he made it clear that he won’t budge an inch from his stubborn leadership style and policies,” Jung Suk-koo, a former executive editor of the centre-left Hankyoreh daily, told This Week in Asia.

Yoon’s ruling People Power Party won 108 of the National Assembly’s 300 seats at the April 10 election, narrowly preventing opposition parties from obtaining the two-thirds majority required to seek his impeachment.

Election winners of the ruling People Power Party visit the National Cemetery in Seoul on Monday. The party endured a devastating loss in the April 10 general elections, only securing 108 seats in the 300-member National Assembly. Photo: Yonhap/via EPA-EFE

In an interview with the conservative Chosun newspaper last year, Yoon warned that his ruling party failing to win a parliamentary majority would turn him into a so-called lame-duck president.

As a result of the electoral drubbing, Yoon will be the first South Korean president to face a hostile parliament throughout his entire five-year term, which is set to end in May 2027.

His past two years at the helm have been marked by gridlock in the opposition-controlled parliament, with critics noting that Yoon – a political novice who spent decades as a prosecutor before winning the presidency – had made little effort to compromise with opponents so he can push through what he characterises as pro-market labour, pension and education reforms.

Instead, the 63-year-old has largely ruled by decree, issuing executive orders and vetoing bills passed by the opposition-led National Assembly, including one calling for a special investigation into corruption allegations surrounding his wife Kim Keon-hee, 51.

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His executive orders have included ones cutting real estate and corporate taxes, granting the justice ministry authority to screen candidates for personnel appointments, and allowing the home ministry to tighten control over police.

Yoon’s detractors say his aim is to create a “country of prosecutors”, as he fills key government posts with those who share his professional background.

Lee Jun-han, a political-science professor at Incheon National University, said Yoon had refused to hold himself responsible for the election loss – even though parliamentary polls are widely seen in South Korea as a midterm referendum on the president’s job performance.

On top of threats from nuclear-armed North Korea, Lee said the South faces growing risks from ballooning government and corporate debt amid a low growth rate, high interest rates and elevated inflation.

Again, he held to this one-way communication method

Kim Seo-joong, Korean media professor, on Yoon’s spurning of journalists’ questions

He warned of “extreme confrontations between the ruling and opposition parties” that are likely to drown out any policy discussions “at this critical juncture”.

Following its landslide win, the opposition camp has moved to introduce a series of bills to parliament to open special investigations into abuse of power and corruption allegations under Yoon.

The president has been criticised for his quasi-authoritarian style of communication, only making remarks through official statements or at cabinet meetings without taking questions from the media.

“Again, he held to this one-way communication method” in his first post-election remarks, said Kim Seo-joong, a media and communications professor at Sungkonhoe University in Seoul, pointing to how Yoon had avoided speaking with journalists and instead passed comment on the polls at a televised cabinet meeting.

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All eyes will now be on an expected cabinet reshuffle, including for the posts of prime minister and chief of the presidential secretariat, to accommodate the opposition’s calls to diversify his prosecutor-heavy team of government ministers.

Yoon has come under pressure to reach out to liberal rival Lee Jae-myung, head of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, for unprecedented talks to discuss the ongoing doctors’ strike and ways to improve people’s livelihoods.

Yoon has previously refused a meeting, citing Lee’s criminal charges including for alleged corruption. Lee asserts the charges are politically motivated.