[Editorial] A loose-lipped top presidential aide

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[Editorial] A loose-lipped top presidential aide

Published: 16 Apr. 2023, 20:17 Updated: 16 Apr. 2023, 22:49

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s approval rating fell to 27 percent. That’s a return to the 20 percent range after hovering over 30 percent for five months. In a recent Gallup Korea poll, the primary reason for the plunge was diplomacy (28 percent) followed by the economy (10 percent) and wartime forced labor compensation (9 percent). The numbers represent an acuter public warning on his handling of foreign affairs than of domestic affairs. The presidential office must accept it seriously.

Frivolous remarks by Kim Tae-hyo, the president’s first deputy national security advisor, only fuel such negative public opinion about Yoon’s diplomacy. After the reports that the U.S. intelligence agencies have been spying on sensitive conversations among senior aides to the president on security and diplomatic affairs, Kim showed unrefined reactions. His immature reaction to the wiretapping can be held more accountable for the public confusion and distrust than the eavesdropping issue itself.

Leaving Incheon International Airport on Tuesday for Washington, Kim told reporters that South Korea and the U.S. agreed that most of the leaked intelligence had been fabricated. He was wrong. His remarks do not make sense after the FBI arrested a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard for posting classified documents online. After arriving in Washington, Kim said that no circumstantial evidence suggests that the U.S. has been spying on our presidential office with malicious intentions. His comment was strongly attacked by opposition lawmakers who wondered if there is any wiretapping with good intentions.

The presidential office went a step further by attacking the press for “trying to damage the alliance.” If such words came from a top security official in the presidential office, they must have been based on close communications with the U.S. But after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin admitted to the seriousness of the leak of the Pentagon documents, the Yoon administration cannot avoid criticisms for its off-track explanation and effort to clear the confusion.

Kim reportedly has gained a bigger say in the National Security Office after his immediate boss resigned over his strong insistence on a prudent resolution of the forced labor compensation issue with Japan. A top presidential aide without much experience in the field can fall into the trap of idealism. Kim, a former professor of international relations, needs to listen to the experiences and views of career diplomats.

The Korea-U.S. summit is just nine days away. We hope that security and diplomatic aides to the president do their best to put the wiretapping controversy behind them and prepare for a successful summit in Washington. Otherwise, the president must replace them sooner or later.