Yoon Suk-yeol can't break his morning habit with the press
But Yoon kept more distance from reporters than before.
On Monday, the presidential office announced the daily question-and-answer sessions with reporters would be suspended for an indefinite period of time after an outbreak of Covid-19 in the presidential press corps.
The media speculated that the suspension might be in response to the president's declining approval ratings, partly caused by controversies arising from his unfiltered remarks to the press.
On Tuesday, Yoon greeted media on his way into the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, and noted that some reporters had been diagnosed with Covid-19. "That's why everyone was advised to work from home as much as possible to keep the presidential complex safe," he said, "but everyone showed up anyway."
Yoon kept an eight-meter distance from press, farther than usual, but willingly took questions.
When asked about the government's Covid-19 response, he said that Prime Minister Han Duck-soo would preside over a meeting Wednesday and "announce basic policies."
Addressing difficulties in the economy, Yoon said, "The most important thing is to make sure people's livelihoods aren't hit by the economic crisis."
He told reporters to "take care," and said that a new area for the press would be set up "in a few days" when asked if he intended to resume the doorstepping sessions.
Yoon has taken questions from reporters nearly every morning in keeping with a campaign pledge to be more accessible to the public and press.
When his spokesperson announced the suspension of the doorstepping sessions on Monday, he noted the proximity of the president's office and the press room.
There were 11 Covid-19 cases confirmed in the presidential press corps as of Monday, according to Yoon's office, amid a surge in coronavirus infections nationally.
The press room is located on the first floor of the presidential office, within the Defense Ministry complex in Yongsan. Yoon's office is on the second floor.
When asked about the suspension of the doorstepping sessions on Monday, Kweon Seong-dong, floor leader and acting chief of the People's Power Party (PPP), told reporters at the National Assembly, "I believe that communication will continue, whatever method it may be."
He added, "President Yoon has said many times since his election that he would not neglect communication, and he chose door stepping as the means[...] He told me, 'Even if there are risks or burdens, it is right to keep doing them as it is a promise with the people.'"
Lawmakers from the Democratic Party (DP) were more critical, and Woo Sang-ho, the party's interim chair, told reporters Monday, "It shouldn't be the principle to do them [doorstepping sessions] when there is an advantage and stop when there is a disadvantage."
BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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