Yoon marks two years in office with spotted results, promises to do better

Politics

Published: 08 May. 2024, 20:10

Yoon marks two years in office with spotted results, promises to do better

President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, shakes hands with Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung in their first official talks at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on April 29. [YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk Yeol marks his second anniversary in office on Friday, with checkered results in his foreign and domestic policies and promises to communicate better.

Inevitably, he faces many more challenges in his remaining three years following a crushing defeat for conservatives in the April 10 general election, considered a public referendum on Yoon's performance to date.

In a pivotal moment, Yoon accepted last month that the election, which resulted in a parliamentary majority for the liberal Democratic Party (DP) for the remainder of his five-year presidential term, reflected public sentiment and vowed to better communicate with the public. This is a return to both a presidential campaign pledge and his early presidency, when he took questions from the press during his signature daily doorstepping sessions.

One such immediate measure is Yoon's first official press conference at the Yongsan presidential office on Thursday, the first of its kind in 21 months. Another is the revival of the position of senior presidential secretary for civil affairs earlier this week to better collect public sentiment. In an in-person press briefing, Yoon named former Vice Justice Minister Kim Joo-hyun to the post he scrapped when he took office in 2022, arguing at the time that the secretary was often mobilized to conduct surveillance on and control political dissidents in the past.

Reform hurdles

As a candidate of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), Yoon took office on May 10, 2022, as a breath of fresh air as a political newbie who vowed to take on a different path from the liberal Moon Jae-in administration, under which he served as prosecutor general.

He began his presidency by moving the presidential office to Yongsan in central Seoul and opening the Blue House in northern Gwanghwamun to the public, in line with his campaign pledge to become a president who is more accessible to the people and press.

In turn, he has scrapped some of the Moon administration's key policies, such as income-led growth and the nuclear phase-out scheme, platforms driven by the government rather than the market.

Yoon, in turn, has touted deregulation measures and policies based on market principles and a rules-based order.

The Yoon administration has especially pushed for labor, pension and education reforms.

In February, the Yoon administration announced plans to drastically increase the medical school admissions quota as a part of its pledge to provide better and more accessible health care nationwide, leading to the ongoing standoff between doctors and the government.

However, his administration's reform plans face a significant hurdle as the liberal bloc holds a majority in the incoming National Assembly.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, gestures as he introduces former Vice Justice Kim Joo-hyun as his new senior secretary for civil affairs at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on Tuesday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Turbulence ahead

Yoon is already known for carrying out more presidential vetoes in the first two years than most Korean leaders.

He has previously vetoed a slew of bills, including one to establish an independent probe into the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush that resulted in 159 deaths and another one calling for an investigation into stock manipulation allegations into first lady Kim Keon Hee earlier this year.

He is also likely to veto a future DP-led special counsel probe into the death of a young Marine during flooding last year, which passed in the DP-led National Assembly on May 2. The DP alleges that the presidential office and the Ministry of National Defense interfered in a military investigation into the death of Marine Lance Corporal Chae Su-geun, who died during a post-flood rescue mission last July.

Yoon faces several legal headaches, including allegations against his wife.

Kim is accused of receiving a luxury handbag from a pastor in 2022. She has also been accused of involvement in a stock manipulation case.

However, Yoon's foreign policy approach will likely not be affected by domestic difficulties, as they are more determined by the current geopolitical landscape.

Regarding diplomatic achievements, Yoon has focused on values-based solidarity and touted himself as the country's "No. 1 salesman," concentrating on prioritizing Seoul's strategic interests and economic security priorities.

He has made eight trips abroad, visiting 13 countries over the last year. This includes his surprise visit to Ukraine in July 2023, during a trip to Lithuania for the NATO summit and Poland.

After his first year in office, Yoon highlighted diplomacy as his most outstanding achievement.

He strengthened the bilateral alliance with Washington by creating a Nuclear Consultative Group to strengthen U.S. extended deterrence in the region. He also normalized relations with Japan over the past year, resulting in stronger trilateral security cooperation with the United States in light of North Korea's increased nuclear and missile threats.

Nonetheless, the president will have to weather stormier seas as he heads into his third year, faced with having to find ways to cooperate with the DP coalition to push forward his reform and budget agenda.

His approval rating dipped below 30 percent in some recent polls, having generally remained under 40 percent for the past two years.

He will be the first president to deal with a rival party holding a majority in the parliament for all five years in office.

New leaf

In a move signaling more willingness to cooperate with the liberal political bloc, Yoon and DP Lee Jae-myung, his 2022 presidential election rival, held their first sit-down talks on April 29.

In Thursday morning's press conference, Yoon is expected to explain his stance on state affairs and major pending issues while highlighting communication and cooperation.

The president is expected to start off with with a 20-minute address to the nation explaining his administration's policies over the past two years and unveiling the direction of the remainder of his term, including his major reform agenda.

He could also address dire economic and social issues, including the country's low birthrate.

In a Cabinet meeting on April 16, days after the election, Yoon apologized to the public and said he "will communicate better and more frequently," ordering his aides to do the same.

The next three years could testify to whether he keeps that vow.

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