Tag: Yoon Suk-yeol

Of course the DPK is going to lie and claim a soju party is what caused South Korea to lose the Expo vote, but this is not a good look for a President to be out with private business CEOs like this:

President Yoon Suk Yeol toasts with Dutch Queen Maxima during a state banquet at the Royal Palace Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Dec. 13 (local time). Joint Press Corps

President Yoon Suk Yeol is mired in controversy over his recent international trips, with reports alleging he had “a secret drinking session” with accompanying business tycoons in France, and the Korean ambassador to the Netherlands being summoned by the Dutch government over Yoon staffers’ excessive demands on presidential protocol.

The Hankyoreh newspaper reported on Friday that Yoon had a closed-door dinner and drinks at a Korean restaurant in Paris on Nov. 24. Attending was Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun and other business leaders who accompanied Yoon to assist Busan’s bid to host the World Expo 2030.

It was four days before the Expo’s governing body held a vote to select the host city of the 2030 event. Busan lost to Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh in a 29-119 count, despite efforts from the government, the public and major Korean businesses.

It was Yoon’s second visit to Paris this year as part of campaigning to promote the city’s bid. The presidential office described the trip as “a tireless journey that wasted not even a second,” while the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) raised suspicion that it could have been a junket.

“While spending taxpayer’s money for a foreign visit, Yoon had a soju bomb dinner with conglomerates. Since when did binge drinking become a tireless journey?” DPK spokesperson Rep. Kang Sun-woo said in a commentary.

“Is the reason for bringing business leaders on foreign trips to find someone to join in the drinking sessions? No wonder a shocking outcome of 29-119 has unfolded.”

Lee Un-ju, a former lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party, said in a radio interview with CBS that Yoon and his cohorts behavior gives a misconception to foreign investors that Korea is a corrupt country where the government and businesses collude.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but President Yoon definitely has a lot of unforced errors that feeds negative press coverage of him.

President Yoon still has a low approval rating, but for the first time in a while he is showing a significant positive increase of 3% from the last poll taken a month ago:

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s approval rating increased to 37 percent from a month ago, according to a survey conducted jointly by Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News TV on Wednesday.

The survey also showed that the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party would secure 33 percent and 32 percent of the vote, respectively, if the parliamentary elections scheduled for next April were held tomorrow.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

Is it politically smart for someone with approval ratings as low as President Yoon to be seen spending so much time with someone who was impeached?:

President Yoon Suk Yeol traveled to the conservative stronghold of Daegu on Tuesday and visited former President Park Geun-hye at her home, in what appeared to be a bid to unite conservatives ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections.

The visit came only 12 days after the two met during a memorial ceremony for Park’s late father and former President Park Chung-hee. It was not on the president’s official schedule and only disclosed afterward.

Park greeted Yoon outside her home’s entrance, whereas during Yoon’s previous visit in April last year, she greeted him inside her home, according to presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

President Yoon’s approval rating is now down to 30 points:

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s approval rating fell to a six-month low, raising alarms over his ability to handle state affairs.

A sense of crisis is spreading within the ruling People Power Party (PPP), forcing Yoon and the ruling bloc to focus on addressing rising living costs and other economic difficulties, which will affect the PPP’s campaign in the crucial general elections in April next year.

According to a Gallup Korea poll released on Friday, Yoon’s approval rating plunged to 30 percent, down 3 percentage points from a week earlier. His disapproval rating stood at 61 percent, also up 3 percentage points during the same period.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This is just another example of how North Korea does not care about unenforceable UN resolutions:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, speaks to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, right, as they inspect Russian warplanes at the Vladivostok International airport in Vladivostok, in Russia’s Far East Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk Yeol in an interview published Sunday called the military cooperation between North Korea and Russia “illegal and unjust,” as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Vladivostok Saturday.  
   
“Military cooperation between North Korea and Russia is illegal and unjust as it contravenes UN Security Council resolutions and various other international sanctions,” Yoon said in a written interview with the Associated Press, warning that the “international community will unite more closely in response to such a move.”  
   
The remarks were made on the eve of Yoon’s trip to New York to attend the UN General Assembly this week. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.