Get off your high horse, Mr. President

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Get off your high horse, Mr. President

Published: 02 Oct. 2024, 19:42

Kim Seung-hyun
The author is the director of social news at JoongAng Ilbo.

The plunging approval ratings of President Yoon Suk Yeol have reminded me of the confidence he proudly exuded shortly after the launch of his conservative administration in May 2022. When asked why he wanted to leave the Blue House for a new presidential office in Yongsan District, Yoon underscored the importance of “the philosophy and determination of the commander in chief.” Despite some lingering doubts over the motive behind his abrupt decision to relocate the presidential compound, Yoon bravely pushed for it. “If people can closely see how their leader works, it will help raise the level of our democracy even further,” he said.

At that time, the president pointed to the need for “mental exchange” with the public to promote our democracy. The “doorstep interviews” the president started a few months after moving into the new presidential office were certainly a reflection of his faith in democracy. He was determined to answer any questions from the press corps at the time. The prosecutor-turned-president gladly lowered his eye level to match people’s so as to meet the challenges before him. It was a dramatic transformation of the previous emperor-like presidents to a people-serving leader.

Nearly at the halfway point of Yoon’s presidency, people’s memories of his commitment to a refreshing presidency have almost dissipated. The president still wants to show how hard he works, but his posture as a public servant is not palpable. Instead, Yoon only wants to display the image of a head of state on his high horse, not the image of a humble leader the public wants to see from him. The president’s “determination to communicate with people” now translates into a “stubbornness being fueled by a lack of communication skills.” That contributed to the abysmal plunge of Yoon’s approval ratings to the 20 percent range.

At the center of the contradiction is first lady Kim Keon Hee. Over the past two years, the first lady faithfully served her role as a “villain” in the X-Men video games. After suspicions over her mysterious activities deepened, even Yoon’s supporters have begun to withdraw their support for the president. The empathy the president sought to build with the public has morphed into public outrage.

The presidential office in Yongsan has turned into the epicenter of all suspicions, as clearly evidenced by the office’s rule violations in the course of the relocation of the presidential office. The Board of Audit and Inspection discovered that the presidential office committed unauthorized assignments of construction works, unclear contracts and budget waste in the relocation. A builder under suspicion had sponsored an exhibition administered by Covana Contents, an art exhibit planning company owned by the first lady.

Questions are endless. Another sponsor of the exhibition was Deutsch Motors, a BMW car dealer in Korea. The prosecution found that the first lady — and her mother — took suspicious financial gains of more than 2 billion won ($1.5 million) from trading the company’s stocks through a broker. Prosecutors are investigating whether the first lady took profits through her normal investment or if she colluded with the stockbroker to manipulate Deutsch Motors’ stock prices. The prosecution is reluctant to indict the first lady until another defendant in the case receives a court ruling.

One of the stock price manipulators is even suspected of attempting to call “the VIP” to save the commander of a Marine division from his responsibility for the tragic death of a Marine last year. Who the VIP appearing in a transcript of the phone conversation refers to has not been answered yet. The controversy over the first lady’s acceptance of a luxury handbag from a mysterious pastor could be just the tip of the iceberg.

A spate of dubious episodes endanger the government. An increasing number of citizens share the opposition’s claim that the country has degenerated into a “Kim Keon Hee queendom.” The majority opposition once again passed a special motion to investigate all the suspicions over the first lady. On Wednesday, the president vetoed the motion once again.

Could President Yoon overcome the crisis before passing the halfway point of his reign? The answer will be found only when he gets off from his high horse. The presidential couple just can’t win public sympathy by buying cabbages in the market or showing watery eyes on the Mapo Bridge — a popular place for committing suicide — or facilities for the handicapped. They can’t afford to wait for the court’s upcoming rulings against the opposition leader. The president must go back to the beginning before it’s too late.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.