Why too frequent tongue replacements?

President Yoon Suk Yeol has appointed his spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung as Vice Minister of Unification and named Jeong Hye-jeon, a senior administrator at the Public Relations Planning Secretary’s Office, as his new spokesperson. Lee Do-woon, the senior presidential secretary for public relations, said that the president expects them to successfully carry out “the government’s unification policy” based on their communication skills and experiences. Lee added that they will also be “good communicators” with the press. But we hope the presidential office thinks deeply about the proper role of presidential spokespersons.

Jeong has become the fourth spokesperson following her three predecessors — a replacement nearly every six months in the past 26 months. Any government appoints a person with sufficient knowledge of the president’s governance philosophy and excellent communication skills as a presidential spokesperson. A spokesperson’s role as the messenger of the president’s policy and position cannot be overemphasized, as they represent the mouth of the president.

Another problem is too frequent replacements of presidential spokespersons. No matter how excellent they are, they still need a certain period of time to grasp the president’s policy direction and leadership style. If so, why does President Yoon change his spokespersons so often? If he cherishes the role of spokespersons, he must let them stay longer. Otherwise, he needs to consider the idea of allowing the senior presidential secretary for public relations to also serve as his spokesperson.

Worse, President Yoon transferred two of his three former spokespersons to key ministries — such as the Foreign Ministry or the Unification Ministry — as their deputy heads despite a critical lack of expertise in the fields. Will such promotions really help those ministries or his governance? The position of a vice minister oversees overall aspects of an organization. It is not a post to learn about a job after a transfer.

This coming November marks the halfway point of the Yoon administration. The government must launch a massive reshuffle of major Cabinet members so as to find a breakthrough in the stalled reform front. The president himself promised it after the governing People Power Party’s crushing defeat in the April 10 parliamentary elections.

Such a radical revamp is needed if the president really wants to show his determination to change the way he governs the country. Certainly, there are people who can help him smoothly run the government, as well as cooperate with the opposition. We hope that Yoon knows well by now what happens if he appoints government ministers based on his personal connections.