Not Just speaking, but listening: The measure of a president’s communication

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Not Just speaking, but listening: The measure of a president’s communication

Published: 30 Jun. 2025, 00:02 Updated: 30 Jun. 2025, 13:57

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Choi Hoon

The author is the senior columnist at the JoongAng Ilbo.

Korea has experienced two presidential impeachments in just eight years — an event considered rare even once in a century. This history demands reflection from all corners of society. A common thread in both the Park Geun-hye and Yoon Suk Yeol administrations was a deep public dissatisfaction with their failure to communicate. Repeated polls cited this breakdown as their most serious flaw.

Though Korea has a new government, the crisis in communication persists. The problem extends beyond politics to everyday life — in offices, families, friendships and particularly on social media platforms, where trench warfare of opinions plays out in digital echo chambers.

President Lee Jae Myung greets main opposition People Power Party lawmakers after delivering a policy speech on an extra budget plan at a plenary session of the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on June 26. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Any reflection must begin with why presidential silence — or tone-deafness — has led to political tragedy. Defenders of impeached presidents may argue that their reputations were shaped unfairly by public perception. But in Park’s case, her administration’s communication style left little room for misunderstanding. Her chief of staff, a former prosecutor, once declared that orders from the top were “royal commands” not to be questioned, only relayed. That mindset defined her presidency.

Communication in leadership, like player stats in baseball, is quantifiable. Park, who campaigned on economic democratization and labor-friendly policies, met with labor unions only twice during her term — neither meeting involved a meal or meaningful engagement. Messages about welfare and economic equality comprised 26 percent of her early speeches but dropped to just 2 percent by her third year in office. She never met with civic groups and held only three luncheons with regional leaders in her first three years — all in her political stronghold of Daegu and North Gyeongsang.

President Lee Jae-myung takes a question from a reporter aboard Air Force One en route to Calgary, Canada, to attend the G7 Summit on June 16. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

While she initially met with small and mid-sized businesses, by 2015, five out of six corporate meetings were with large conglomerates. Her public schedule leaned heavily toward pre-arranged promotional events and site visits. Over three years, she held only five press conferences — hallmarks of effective two-way communication. Asked why she held so few, she turned to aides and asked, “Do you think that’s necessary?”

The response from moderate voters and open-minded conservatives was predictable: she had returned to the past — one-way communication, heavy-handed authority, and reliance on loyalist bases. The inevitable label: uncommunicative.

Yoon Suk Yeol, critics argue, did even less. Over two and a half years, he held just four press conferences and reluctantly met with the opposition leader only after a resounding election defeat. Although his defenders cite opposition obstructionism, Yoon personally vetoed 25 out of 39 legislative bills rejected by sitting presidents since democratization.

The core issue? He dominated meetings, often speaking for 90 percent of the time, leaving no room to listen. Former U.S. House Speaker Tip O’Neill once said audiences can pay attention to a politician for 15 minutes—after that, the message is lost.

Yoon, like Park, frequented markets and snapped photos with business leaders eating street food. Yet the public still viewed him as disconnected. Why? Because democratic communication is not just about speaking, but listening — what Koreans call “opening one’s ears.”

A president’s most dangerous moment often comes six months after taking office. Surrounded by classified information and flattered by aides, they begin to believe they are doing far better than their predecessors. Confidence grows into complacency. They talk more, listen less, and come to view contrary opinions as challenges to authority. When that happens, democracy begins to fray.

The political communication of former presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun offers a contrast. Kim, known for his measured style, rarely spoke first and always listened intently. Roh, often praised for his plain speech, connected with people through the consistency between his life story and his words.

Then President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, shakes hands with former President Park Geun-hye, in Daegu on April 12, 2022. [YONHAP]

Perhaps most moving is a recent story from Byeon Hyun-dan, who received the Hong Jin-ki Award for collecting and cultivating 7,831 native Korean seed varieties. She described how she built bonds with elderly women in rural villages, whose lives had been shaped by the seeds they preserved. For them, the seeds were symbols of grace, survival and memory. By listening to their stories, Byeon said, she gained more than seeds — she gained trust. “Seeds became bridges between our hearts,” she said.

True communication is not small talk, photo ops, or platitudes. It's about the content of conversations — the sincerity of listening and the willingness to act together. The great listener becomes the true communicator, and in turn, a great political leader.

President Lee Jae Myung is scheduled to hold his first press conference this week. It is an opportunity to plant the first seeds of sincere, content-driven dialogue. May that conversation grow into something lasting.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.