Yoon says he ‘humbly accepts’ election results, promises better communication

President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on Tuesday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Yoon Suk Yeol said in a Cabinet meeting Tuesday that he “humbly accepts” the public sentiment reflected in last week’s general election, which resulted in his conservative People Power Party’s crushing defeat.

This marks Yoon’s first public remarks on the results after the liberal Democratic Party (DP) won a landslide victory in last Wednesday’s parliamentary elections.

“The government's reason to exist is to help people in need and take care of their livelihood,” Yoon said in the televised opening remarks of the Cabinet meeting. “In that aspect, I humbly accept the public sentiment expressed through this general election.”

Stressing that his top priority would be the livelihood of the people, he said, “I will listen to public sentiment and communicate more with a more humble and flexible attitude.”

The DP and its satellite party, the Democratic United Party (DUP), secured a total of 175 seats in the 300-member National Assembly, while Yoon’s PPP and its affiliated People Future Party (PFP) claimed 108 seats.

“Over the past two years since taking office, I have walked a path for our national interest keeping in mind only the people, but I have failed to live up to public expectations,” Yoon said in the Cabinet meeting attended by his key aides.

“Even though I did my best to set the right direction for state affairs and put this into practice, it was not enough to create a tangible change that the people could feel.”

Yoon admitted that even though his policies were intended to help “the people in the grander scheme of things,” they were “lacking in terms of details.”

“No matter how right the direction of state affairs is and how many good policies are promoted, if the people do not feel actual change, the government has not fulfilled its role,” he said.

Last Thursday, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and presidential aides, including Yoon’s chief of staff Lee Kwan-seop, resigned to take responsibly for the disappointing election results.

On the same day, Yoon said through his presidential office, “I will humbly accept the will of the people expressed through the general election and do my best to reform state affairs and stabilize the economy and people's livelihood."

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]