President Yoon is so unpopular in South Korea I doubt these boycotts by his supporters will have any impact on sales:
Singer and actor IU promotes New Balance’s apparel in this undated photo. Courtesy of E-Land
Political disputes about President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment over his botched martial law declaration have had unexpected impacts on brands endorsed by IU and other celebrities, who supported protests against him, as well as on companies related to his allies.
On Friday, IU’s agency announced that the singer prepaid for food and hand warmers for her fans participating in a candlelight protest for Yoon’s impeachment near the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. After the announcement, Yoon’s supporters began to encourage the boycott of companies who hired her as a spokesmodel, sharing the list of brands.
On the list were New Balance, HiteJinro and Woori Bank.
Although her endorsement agreements with water brand Jeju Samdasoo and Domino’s Pizza have already ended, the names of the brands were also on the list shared by pro-Yoon consumers.
I don’t see how President Yoon stays in power because this is clearly a hint from the PPP leader that they will join the opposition in impeachment if he doesn’t suspend his Presidential powers:
The leader of the ruling party said Friday that President Yoon Suk Yeol needs to be swiftly suspended from exercising power, revealing that Yoon ordered the arrests of prominent politicians during his aborted martial law declaration.
Han Dong-hoon of the People Power Party (PPP) said there is a possibility that the president may again take a “radical” action like the botched declaration of martial law if Yoon clings to the presidential power.
“Given the newly revealed facts, I believe it is necessary to promptly suspend President Yoon Suk Yeol from his duties to protect the Republic of Korea and its people,” Han told an emergency meeting of the party’s leadership at the National Assembly, referring to South Korea by its official name.
Han pointed out it was confirmed Thursday that Yoon had instructed Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyung to detain key political figures, accusing them of being “anti-state” forces, and had even mobilized intelligence to detain them. (Yonhap)
The Democratic Party would need to get 8 votes from President Yoon’s People Power Party to impeach him. It will be interesting to see what the PPP does because its leadership has clashed with Yoon as well. If the PPP decides to support impeachment they are essentially handing the Presidency to Lee Jae-myung and the Korean left. However if the PPP does decide to support impeachment I can’t really blame them because the martial law attempt was preposterous:
President Yoon Suk Yeol has come under growing attacks from the main opposition party to face impeachment or charges of treason, in the wake of his short-lived attempt to impose martial law that was blocked by the National Assembly. (Yonhap)
You can read more at the link, but any treason charges is going to depend on if the Constitutional Court finds that what Yoon did was Constitutional or not.
Much of these controversies like handbag-gate were manufactured by his political opponents, but the fact his poll numbers have nosedived below 20% has pretty much forced President Yoon to make this public apology:
President Yoon Suk Yeol offered an apology Thursday for causing concerns to the people and vowed to revamp state affairs amid growing controversies surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee.
Yoon stood up and bowed his head in apology during a televised address and press conference marking the second half of his term and providing an outline of the future policy direction. (….)
Yoon addressed the concerns over the first lady, who has faced criticism over allegations involving her acceptance of a luxury handbag, stock manipulation and involvement in government affairs.
“She should have conducted herself with greater caution, and the fact that she has caused concern to the public is unquestionably wrong,” he said.
Yoon said Kim should have acted more cautiously and it was wrong for her actions to have caused public concern, noting he appointed a secretary earlier in the day to prepare for the establishment of an office dedicated to supporting the first lady’s work.
You can read more at the link, but some of these controversies could have been prevented if the First Lady had an office initially to filter some of the nonsense that got here in trouble.
The doctor crisis appears to be crushing President Yoon’s approval rating:
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s approval rating fell to 20 percent, marking its lowest level since he took office in May 2022, a poll showed Friday.
The survey, conducted by the polling agency Gallup Korea, showed that the positive assessment of Yoon’s performance plunged 3 percentage points from the previous week, while his negative assessment reached an all-time high of 70 percent, up 3 percent from a week earlier.
Yoon’s handling of medical school quotas, the economy and lack of communication were cited as reasons for the negative assessment.
The approval ratings of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), the main opposition Democratic Party and the Rebuilding Korea Party came to 28 percent, 33 percent and 8 percent, respectively.
You can read more at the link, but if the Yoon administration stands firm on the medical school quota issue the current short term pain of the current doctor strike will ultimately lead to more doctors in the long term.
You cannot put anything pass the Korean left, so them trying another impeachment scheme is definitely plausible:
The presidential office lambasted the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Monday for spreading false rumors about the government allegedly planning to declare martial law.
Presidential spokesperson Jeong Hye-jeon condemned DP leader Lee Jae-myung for raising the allegations during a live broadcast meeting with ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon on Sunday.
“We are appalled that the leader of a major political party would spread fabricated rumors on live television,” Jeong said in a press briefing. “If there is even a shred of evidence, please present it.”
Jeong questioned whether the DP is spreading the rumors as part of a broader propaganda campaign focused on the radical idea of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, vowing to sternly deal with its attempts to manipulate public opinion with baseless claims.
“Is this part of a buildup to (Yoon’s) impeachment?” Jeong asked, adding that if there is no evidence, the DP should be labeled a “party of fake news.”
You can read more at the link, but what is even stupider about this claim from the opposition party is that if martial law is declared by Yoon, by law the national assembly can overrule it with a majority vote. Currently the opposition party holds the majority of the seats in the national assembly.
Yoon meets S. Korean, U.S. service members President Yoon Suk Yeol (front) speaks while visiting the Ground Operations Command in Yongin, south of Seoul, on Aug. 21, 2024, to meet with South Korean and U.S. service members taking part in the joint military exercise of the Ulchi Freedom Shield, in this photo provided by the presidential office. (Yonhap)
President Yoon’s comments are definitely not going to go over well with the Kim regime:
President Yoon Suk Yeol unveiled a vision for unification with North Korea on Thursday, pledging to expand outside information in the reclusive nation and proposing an official dialogue channel that can “take up any issue.”
Yoon made the remark in an address marking Liberation Day, which celebrates the 1945 end of Japan’s colonial rule, saying, “Complete liberation remains an unfinished task” as the Korean Peninsula still remains divided.
“The freedom we enjoy must be extended to the frozen kingdom of the North, where people are deprived of freedom and suffer from poverty and starvation,” Yoon said. “Only when a unified free and democratic nation rightfully owned by the people is established across the entire Korean Peninsula will we finally have complete liberation.”
Yoon laid out three key tasks for unification: defending freedom in South Korea from fake news and other destabilizing elements, bringing about changes in North Korea through human rights improvements and outside information, and strengthening cooperation with the international community.
You can read more at the link, but the statement about bringing in outside information into North Korea likely means the propaganda balloon launches will continue. The fact that North Korea gets so angered by the balloon launches demonstrates that they must be having an effect.
Here is the reaction from the President of Korea on the attempted assassination of Donald Trump:
President Yoon Suk Yeol said Sunday he was shocked by an assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump, denouncing the attack as “horrible political violence” and wishing him a quick recovery.
“I am appalled by the horrible political violence. I wish former President Trump a speedy recovery,” Yoon wrote in English on his official X page. “The people of Korea stand in solidarity with the people of America.”
Trump, the Republican presidential candidate pursuing his second term, suffered a gunshot wound in his right ear during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday (U.S. time). The Federal Bureau of Investigation has said it will treat the shooting as “an assassination attempt” against Trump.
You can read more at the link. We don’t know the motivations of the assassin yet, but I would not be surprised if he is someone with a history of mental issues, lives an isolated life, with no girlfriend, and became radicalized by all the rhetoric against Trump. I just recently shared on here The New Republic cover that had Trump looking like Hitler. How many times have we heard Trump is going to end democracy in America? This is all complete rubbish, but talk like this causes crazy people to do crazy things.
Yoon visits US command South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (4th from L) poses for a photo with U.S. commanders during his visit to Camp Smith, Indo-Pacific Command’s headquarters in Hawaii, on July 9, 2024. (From L to R) Commander of the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific William Jurney, Commander of Pacific Air Forces Kevin Schneider, Commander of U.S. Army Pacific Charles Flynn, Commander of Indo-Pacific Command Samuel Paparo, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg, Commander of U.S. Forces Korea Paul LaCamera and Commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet Stephen Koehler. (Yonhap)
