SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol said Thursday that his government’s efforts to improve people’s lives have been insufficient, and the ruling party’s disastrous defeat in last month’s election has weighed on voters’ evaluation of his two-year term. I agree that it reflects that.
In his first press conference in 21 months, Yun vowed to focus on improving the economy and tackling the national emergency of declining birth rates during his remaining three years in office.
“I think the important thing going forward is certainly the economy,” he said.
“Growing a company and creating jobs are important, but what I value more than that is finding out what is inconvenient in each person’s life and making efforts to resolve it.” I think.”
South Korea’s economy grew by 1.3% in the first three months of this year, beating most expectations, but despite some progress in combating inflation, the cost of living remains high.
As the new policy drive creates a government ministry to tackle record low birthrates and a rapidly aging population, Yun will appear at the front of the official residence behind a plate that reads “The Buck Stops Here.” said in his greeting.
“This is not a problem that we can spend time on,” he said.
South Korea’s birth rate, already the lowest in the world, continued to decline dramatically in 2023. Women cite concerns about shouldering most of the child-rearing burden, loss of career opportunities, and the financial costs of raising children as reasons why women delay or refrain from having children. I have no children at all.
Yun’s People’s Power Party suffered a landslide defeat in the April 10 vote, prompting calls for a change in his leadership style and policy direction in order to regain the presidency, which has not yet reached a halfway point.
Asked about the party’s election defeat, Yun said, “I think it reflects the public’s assessment that the administration’s efforts are far from what is needed.”
He has apologized for the first time over the controversy over his wife receiving an expensive Dior handbag. The issue is likely to weigh on his attempts to win cooperation from the opposition-dominated parliament on policy priorities.
Mr. Yoon won the 2022 presidential election by less than 1 percentage point, but one opinion poll showed his approval rating has fallen to an all-time low of 21%.
Rep. Park Chang-dae, the new floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, called Yoon’s press conference and speech “extremely disappointing.”
He said the incident reconfirmed that the president “did not have the heart or will to protect the lives of the people.”
Kim Hyun-joong, a professor at Paichai University in the capital Seoul, said Yoon’s comments could lead him to focus on more bipartisan issues, such as boosting the birth rate, rather than a complete change to his policy agenda. He said it implied sex.
“Even after such a crushing election loss, he didn’t seem to have any sense of crisis. There were no new policy initiatives and little sign of a dramatic change in approach,” he said.
Regarding foreign policy, when asked whether South Korea would consider helping to protect Ukraine from Russia, Yoon said South Korea has a position of not supplying lethal weapons to any country in an ongoing conflict. He said he would maintain it.
Despite emerging as a major arms exporter, South Korea has resisted pressure from Washington and Kiev to provide weapons to Ukraine because it wants to avoid antagonizing Russia.
Russia has long been a good partner, but the war with Ukraine and Russia’s use of North Korean weapons have made relations “uncomfortable,” Yun said.
The United States and its allies have condemned what it calls a large-scale delivery of North Korean weapons to support Russia’s war effort, including missiles that the U.N. sanctions monitor said hit Ukrainian cities.
Russia and North Korea deny arms deals, but have vowed to deepen cooperation on military issues and other issues.