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Humility matters for a successful presidency

Published: 31 Oct. 2023, 20:12

In a speech on next year’s budget to the National Assembly on Tuesday, President Yoon Suk Yeol showed quite a refreshing image. In a surprising departure from the past, the president mentioned the names of opposition parties first apparently in a show of courtesy. He elaborated on the direction of his administration for 2024, including its top priority on taming inflation and launching the long-awaited pension reform. But most noticeable was the drastic change in his attitude toward the opposition Democratic Party (DP).

Members of the majority party also acted differently from the past year, when they didn’t look at the president while he was delivering a speech in the legislature or held pickets in a show of opposition to whatever the conservative president tried to do. In a brief meeting before the presidential address Tuesday, Yoon shook hands with controversial DP leader Lee Jae-myung, whom the president had been steadfastly reluctant to meet. That was nearly the first time that the two divergent leaders talked with one another at a public event. When the president entered the chamber of the legislature to deliver his speech, Lee first extended his hands to Yoon for a handshake, smiling. On his way to the podium, the president also extended his hands first to the DP lawmakers.

The tone of the president’s rhetoric was different, too. Yoon repeatedly used the term “request” to ask for the opposition’s cooperation on labor reforms for the future of the country and the young generation in particular. Last year, that mild expression was replaced by “your desperately needed cooperation” and “look forward to your cooperation.” After the speech on Tuesday, the president first went to the opposition’s section to shake hands with DP lawmakers.

Such humility most likely resulted from the governing People Power Party (PPP)’s crushing defeat in the recent by-election in Seoul. The president must have lowered himself to seek support from the DP, which holds 168 seats in the 300-member legislature. But some DP members resorted to their signature defiance against the head of state by refusing to shake hands with him or just ignoring him. When the president approached, Rep. Kim Yong-min sarcastically said, “How about stepping down now?” Such an arrogant reaction will backfire in the next parliamentary election on April 10.

The president reportedly ordered his speech writer to delete sensitive wording, which attributes everything to the former Moon Jae-in administration. That is a desirable change for a head of state who came into office 18 months ago. We hope the president meets members of the DP more often from now on. He must talk to them by phone, have dinner with them and find ways to improve people’s livelihood. Otherwise, the president cannot govern the country successfully.