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A mismatch of stamina and performance

Published: 25 Sep. 2024, 19:48

KWON HO
The author is a political news reporter of the JoongAng Ilbo.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is energetic. He is not just big. His aides often say they get exhausted from meetings before Yoon does. I also personally witnessed his stamina during overseas tours.

Until the end of last year, I accompanied overseas trips as a presidential correspondent. The schedules were always tight. Last year’s Camp David summit was the highlight. From Aug. 17 to 20, the delegation flew 13 hours from Seoul to Washington, spent 25 hours in Washington D.C. and flew back on a 14-hour flight. Although a new milestone in the trilateral cooperation among Korea, the United States and Japan was established, I was exhausted at the time.

It seems that his recent trip to the Czech Republic from Sept. 19 to 22 was just as hectic. On the day of arrival, he had a meeting with President Petr Pavel, a press conference and dinner. The next day had seven scheduled events, beginning with a Korea-Czech business forum at 9 a.m. and ending with a dinner with local Korean residents at 7 p.m. He claims to be “the No. 1 salesperson of Korea.”

But this strength of Yoon is not displayed in Korea. His party suffered a crushing defeat in the April 10 parliamentary elections — a midterm report for his performance. Lately, his approval rating fell to 20 percent, the lowest since his election victory two years ago. Yoon should have a similar eagerness and energy at home and abroad, but the outcomes are very different.

Both politics and diplomacy are a game dealing with another party. However, the characteristics of the opponents and games are different. Diplomacy with allies and friendly nations seeks mutual interests. It’s not a zero-sum game where Yoon’s interest means a loss for the other side. But in politics, the other side is more of an enemy, not a partner. As the value of improving people’s welfare was diminished, politics has regressed into a zero-sum game. Yoon likes to use the expression “interest cartels,” showing his antipathy towards various types of interest groups, including medical doctors and politicians.

Behind-the-scenes negotiation is also difficult for the president. In diplomacy, working-level officials make constant negotiations under the table before the leaders agree on an outcome. But such negotiations are hard to find in his domestic politics. Even in the same camp, a closed-door discussion often leaks, and results don’t stand. The basics of diplomacy are to pursue common interests based on mutual respect and quiet negotiation. But these concepts can also be applied to domestic politics.