Tag: Yoon Suk-yeol

This latest trip abroad for President Yoon has gone way better than his last one where he showed up late to Queen Elizabeth’s funeral and was caught using an expletive on a hot mic initially reported to be directed towards President Biden:

 President Yoon Suk-yeol and first lady Kim Keon-hee briefly reunited with U.S. President Joe Biden at a gala dinner for world leaders in Phnom Penh the previous day, the presidential office said Sunday.

Yoon and Kim “met with U.S. President Joe Biden who entered the venue shortly after they arrived and happily exchanged greetings,” deputy presidential spokesperson Lee Jae-myoung said in a written briefing. “President Yoon and President Biden caught up with each other and fondly posed for photos.”

The couple also happily exchanged greetings with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife, Yuko, Lee said.

The leaders are in Cambodia to attend regional summits involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. On Sunday, Yoon, Biden and Kishida are scheduled to hold bilateral and trilateral summits on the event’s sidelines.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see if the Biden administration tries to make any changes to the IRA to address Korean concerns:

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris promised President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday that the United States will look for solutions to South Korea’s concerns about the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as the law is implemented, the presidential office said.

Harris conveyed the position after Yoon reiterated South Korea’s concerns that the law will hurt Korean carmakers by giving tax credits only to electric vehicles assembled in North America, according to deputy presidential spokesperson Lee Jae-myoung.

“President Yoon delivered our concerns about the U.S. IRA, saying he hopes the two countries will closely cooperate to produce a mutually satisfying agreement in the spirit of the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement,” Lee said during a press briefing.

“In response, Vice President Harris said not only she, but also President Biden, are well aware of South Korea’s concerns and will look into it carefully in order to find ways to resolve South Korea’s concerns in the process of the law’s implementation,” he said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The back and forth over President Yoon’s hot mic comments during his U.S. trip has become nothing more than partisan bickering at this point. With that said considering MBC’s past track record, it is very believable someone there would be willing to falsify President Yoon’s comments:

The People Power Party (PPP) said Tuesday it will create a task force to investigate what it called “selective and biased” subtitling of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s hot mic moment in New York last week.  
   
The PPP’s announcement came the same day that the Democratic Party (DP) made clear it would push ahead with plans to punish those in the government it deems at fault for what it has characterized as a gaffe-ridden presidential tour of Britain, the United States and Canada.  
   
The dueling plans by the rival parties represent an escalation in the political spat over comments made by Yoon at a fundraiser in New York hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden. (…..)

The comments could be heard in a video recording first released last week by MBC, or Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. Some of Yoon’s remarks in the clip were drowned out by loud music and background noise.    
   
Based on the broadcaster’s subtitles, Yoon was speaking about Biden losing face if he didn’t get congressional approval for something. Initial reports said he was referring to Biden’s pledge to contribute another $6 billion to the Global Fund, which would require U.S. Congress approval.  
   
The PPP, led by floor leader Joo Ho-young, alleges that MBC distorted the president’s remarks.  
   
“MBC basically incorporated tabloid speculation as subtitles for the president’s words,” Joo said at a gathering of all the party’s lawmakers at the National Assembly on Tuesday. “We believe that MBC violated basic journalistic ethics, including fact-checking, in its report,” he added.  
   
Earlier, the presidential office denied that Yoon was referring to members of the U.S. Congress when he used the expletive, saying that he was actually talking about members of Korea’s National Assembly.  
   
The PPP has already filed a libel lawsuit against MBC President and CEO Park Sung-jae, reporters and other relevant individuals for alleged disclosure of false information.  
   
They argued that the report harmed Korea’s “national interests” and demanded an apology from MBC and its CEO’s resignation.     

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

President Yoon says that reports of him using a cuss word to describe the U.S. Congress is untrue:

 President Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday that untrue media reports of his remarks caught on hot mic damaged South Korea’s alliance with the United States in his first response to the controversy.

Last week, Yoon was caught on video making a remark privately to aides in New York that appeared to include vulgar words. Though the recording was not clear due to noise, many thought Yoon was talking about U.S. Congress and U.S. President Joe Biden.

But Yoon’s office rejected the claim, saying he was referring to South Korea’s opposition-controlled National Assembly without mentioning U.S. Congress or Biden. Yoon’s ruling People Power Party also claimed people misheard Yoon’s remarks because the video had a subtitle misrepresenting them.

“Damaging the alliance with untrue media reports would be putting people in danger,” Yoon told reporters, adding that how such incorrect reports have circulated should be clearly verified.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I guess the Korean National Assembly is the expletives that Yoon was referring to, so everyone should feel better about his remarks?

Here is the latest sign that relations are continuing to improve between Japan and Korea. I guess we will see if it leads to anything positive, but considering how low the popularity is domestically for both leaders they both probably do not have the political capital to get any big deals done:

The summit took place suddenly, as the details had been kept under wraps for days, in the form of Yoon visiting the venue of an event hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in New York.

Yoon and Kishida “agreed on the need to improve bilateral relations by resolving pending issues,” South Korea’s readout of the meeting said. The two agreed to instruct their diplomats to accelerate talks to that end.

Yoon and Kishida also “shared serious concern about North Korea’s nuclear program,” including its recent legalization of nuclear arms and the possibility of a seventh nuclear test, and “agreed to cooperate closely with the international community to respond to it,” according to the readout.

A presidential official hailed the summit as “the first step toward producing tangible results.”

“After two years and 10 months, despite the existence of various disputes between South Korea and Japan, the two leaders met and took the first step toward a resolution. That is why it was highly significant,” the official told reporters in New York.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This makes me wonder who was coordinating this trip for President Yoon because there is a big difference between a 30 minute meeting and less than a minute:

When Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo said last week that President Yoon Suk-yeol’s summit with U.S. President Joe Biden would be brief ― 30 minutes or so ― many thought that it might be too short to talk about the urgent issues between the two countries. But the meeting in New York City turned out to be even shorter ― far shorter ― than he hoped it would be. At a fundraising event hosted by Biden, Yoon had a standing conversation with him for less than a minute ― 48 seconds, precisely. 

According to Yoon’s office and the White House, Wednesday (local time), Yoon asked Biden to help resolve South Korean companies’ concerns over the Inflation Reduction Act and they reaffirmed their commitment to bolstering the bilateral alliance against North Korea during the conversation. 

The act, passed last month, gives a tax credit to buyers of electric vehicles (EVs) from next January if a minimum of 40 percent of the critical minerals in their batteries are mined or processed in the U.S. or countries that signed free trade agreements in the U.S., or recycled in North America. At least 50 percent of the battery components must also be manufactured or assembled in North America. The law is causing significant concern for Korean automakers.

The news immediately drew criticism from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which called the meeting the latest episode of “diplomatic disaster” committed by Yoon.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It appears that President Yoon is not a big fan of the U.S. Congress:

South Korea’s presidential office defended President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday after he was caught on video using foul language to apparently refer to U.S. lawmakers.

In the video, Yoon is seen talking with U.S. President Joe Biden at a fundraiser for fighting infectious diseases in New York on Wednesday. As he turns away to leave, he appears to tell his aides with vulgar language that it would be embarrassing for Biden if the National Assembly did not approve of something unspecified.

The clip led to speculation and criticism that Yoon was referring to Biden’s pledge to contribute another US$6 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. His mention of the National Assembly was interpreted as a reference to U.S. Congress.

A senior presidential official said he did not pay attention to the remarks and did not remember them as he was following the president from behind.

“He wasn’t speaking publicly on the stage but in passing, and although I don’t know who recorded it and how, I actually think it should be verified,” the official told reporters in New York.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this is just another self inflicted political wound that Yoon’s critics can now dwell on for a couple of news cycles. He is already dealing with another self inflicted wound by showing up too late to London to give condolences at Westminster Abbey prior to the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II.

The ROK President was shown a lot of respect being seated in the front row with Presidents Biden and Macron:

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London on Monday, one of hundreds of world leaders who gathered here to honor the legacy of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

Yoon and first lady Kim Keon-hee attended the funeral service at Westminster Abbey at 11 a.m. They were seated in the 14th row in the section reserved for foreign leaders, behind French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, and in the same row as U.S. President Joe Biden and his wife.

“President Yoon mourned the death of the queen, who demonstrated through practice the solidarity of liberal democratic nations during her 70-year reign,” the presidential office said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see if any big announcements in regards to resolving historical issues between the countries will be announced:

President Yoon Suk-yeol will hold his first-ever summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in New York next week on a trip that will include his attendance at the U.N. General Assembly and a separate meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, his office said Thursday.

The meeting with Kishida will mark the first summit between the two countries in nearly three years since the last meeting in December 2019 and raises hope for improving relations frayed badly over wartime forced labor and other issues related to Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.