Don’t bury your head in the sand, Mr. President

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Don’t bury your head in the sand, Mr. President

Published: 05 Nov. 2024, 19:27

Koh Hyun-kohn
The author is the executive editor of the JoongAng Ilbo.

The conservative values are compassion, inclusivity, responsibility, dedication, modesty and self-restraint. These values collapsed with the abrupt exit of impeached President Park Geun-hye. Hopes for a restoration of conservatism were raised after conservative candidate Yoon Suk Yeol won presidency, but they quickly turned into disappointment. Frowning became bemoaning upon finding the president and his government so lousy. People wonder what worse can happen, and conservative voters dread the possibility of a second impeachment.

The president’s approval rating hung just above 30 percent in July 2022, although he was still in a honeymoon period after taking office two months earlier. He shrugged it off, saying the approval rating was “meaningless.” As the poll reflects public sentiment, his dismissal of the popular belief brought down his approval rating to a wretched 19 percent as of Nov. 1. Yoon was elected by receiving 48.6 percent of the votes, which means more than half of his voters deserted him.

In the governing People Power Party (PPP), few of his earlier loyalists remain while veterans choose to hold their tongues. “There is no use talking to the president. He won’t listen and will only humiliate you,” an insider said. Few government officials wish to be dispatched to the presidential office. “Working in the presidential office could give us the stigma as a member of Yoon’s legion,” said another official. Bureaucrats don’t want to volunteer to pose as an outcast in the presidential office dominated by people close to the presidential couple or former prosecutors.

When grading his midway performance, Yoon flunked in three sections. First, his governance philosophy is equivocal. People voted for Yoon without knowing him. They were just sick of the hypocrisy of the former liberal government under President Moon Jae-in and disliked liberal candidate Lee Jae-myung. Yoon, who spent all of his adult years studying law and serving as a prosecutor, was not ready to become a president. The prosecution is a hierarchical and exclusive organization. It runs on orders rather than communication. Prosecutors don’t have to worry about their career path. Since interrogation is their job, they need not mind modesty or self-restraint. That’s why we hear so much about the president “losing” his temper.

Yoon’s messages also were incongruent. In his inauguration speech, Yoon highlighted the values of freedom, fairness, communalism and humility. They sounded figurative though they were borrowed from a text of the French Revolution. In the face of growing opponents, his tone became harsh. During the Liberation Day speech last year, the president raised his voice about “thriving anti-state forces in Korea” as if mimicking extreme rightist YouTubers.

Due to the void of philosophy and vision, Yoon’s governance was guided by bigotry and whims. His determination to relocate the presidential office and residence was baffling. Then, he was obsessive about hosting the World Expo in Busan as if the country’s future depended on it. He also stoked social divide with the decision to remove the bust of independence fighter Hong Beom-do from the Military Academy citing his association with communism. The president disapproved of flexing the universal 52-hour workweek, although he vowed to be business-friendly. The sharp cut in government budgetary appropriation to back research and development activities to root out “collusive connections” in the science community wreaked havoc on the science and engineering field. Why the president suddenly came out with the number 2,000 to increase the medical school admissions quota still remains a mystery. The so-called signature reforms in pension, education and labor gained little traction as they were pushed back during the golden time in his term.

Second, his family management was catastrophic. All past presidents were shamed by wrongdoings of their family members or acquaintances. But never did their family risks perpetuate throughout their term as in the case of first lady Kim Keon Hee. As the elected power lies with just the president, no one can share the authority. Koreans didn’t tolerate nepotism even during the military regimes.

Third, Yoon’s appointments were disastrous. The president stuck to his inner circle and his wife’s acquaintances. As appointments were based on familiarity, flops ensued. Many of them proved to be unqualified — and few would talk straight to the president. The cabinet is nearly defunct. Government ministers merely take orders and try to please the president. What about the power broker who has been bragging about influencing the presidential couple and nominations? It is disgraceful that the first couple mingled with such a person.

True conservatives are humble and strict on themselves. They feel ashamed for doing wrong and become remorseful. They are not thick-skinned as they value self-esteem. That’s why conservatives turned their back on Park Geun-hye when they learned of the excesses of her confidante Choi Soon-sil. They are different from the blind leftist loyalists who kept to the side of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk despite the revelation of corruption of his family members. President Yoon’s term will pass the halfway point on Nov. 10. More people could be grumbling about enduring the president for another two and half years. If Yoon doesn’t address the three failures, he could spend the latter half of his term in oblivion.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.