Tag: Yoon Suk-yeol

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.

President Yoon’s popularity continues to slide in South Korea:

President Yoon Suk-yeol’s approval rating was recorded slightly above 30 percent in a national poll conducted just before the Chuseok fall harvest holiday, a poll showed Saturday.

In a two-day poll conducted by Korea Research on 1,001 adults from Wednesday, Yoon’s approval rating stood at 30.4 percent, while his disapproval rating was recorded at 63.6 percent. Six percent said they were uncertain of their assessments.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This seems like a good compromise approach that allows these wartime workers to be compensated while allowing Japan to maintain the legality of the 1965 treaty:

“We’re now fully considering a plan that would allow the plaintiffs to receive compensation in a way that doesn’t conflict with the sovereignty issues that the Japanese government is concerned about,” Yoon said.

The Japanese government has long maintained that the issue of claims by former requisitioned workers has been settled under the 1965 Agreement on the Settlement of Problems Concerning Property and Claims and on Economic Cooperation between Japan and the Republic of Korea. Yoon’s reference to “sovereignty issues” is believed to refer to this position.

Yoon appears to envision measures such as subrogation in which a fund is created by Japanese and Korean companies to pay compensation to the plaintiffs.

“The historical issue can be resolved amicably through concessions and understanding,” Yoon said, if Japan and South Korea strengthen future-oriented cooperation. It appears that the South Korean president recognizes the need for compromise between the Japanese government and companies and Korean plaintiffs, but he did not refer to specific steps to be taken.

Yomiuri Shimbun

You can read more at the link, but don’t expect the Korean left to support this. What President Yoon will need to do is make sure this is implemented in a way that the Korean left can’t over turn whenever they win a Presidential election again like they did with the comfort women settlement with Japan once President Moon was elected.

President Yoon may not have had time to meet with Nancy Pelosi, but he did have time to meet with Bill Gates to discuss vaccine development:

President Yoon Suk-yeol met with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Tuesday and discussed cooperation on vaccine development and other health issues.

During the meeting at the presidential office, Yoon praised Gates for his contributions to modern industrial technology and infrastructure and for his efforts to increase access to vaccines and treatments in developing countries.

He also thanked Gates, who co-chairs the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, for helping South Korea’s SK Bioscience Co. develop the country’s first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine in June.

“On behalf of the government of the Republic of Korea, I too would like to establish substantive cooperative relations with your foundation so that our country can contribute to promoting the health of the world’s citizens while continuing to build advanced bio health technologies,” he said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

President Yoon has to know the Kim regime is not going to denuclearize for any amount of economic aid. However, they would happily pretend to denuclearize for economic aid like they have done in the past:

President Yoon Suk-yeol pledged Monday to swiftly improve relations with Japan based on a 1998 joint declaration between the two countries while offering to significantly rebuild North Korea’s economy if Pyongyang takes steps toward substantial denuclearization.

Yoon made the remarks in a Liberation Day speech marking 77 years since Korea’s independence from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule. (…….)

Yoon also laid out the details of his “audacious plan” to improve North Korea’s economy in the event it takes steps to denuclearize, an offer he first made during his inauguration speech in May.

He said North Korea’s denuclearization is “essential” for sustainable peace on the peninsula, in Northeast Asia and around the world.

“The audacious initiative that I envision will significantly improve North Korea’s economy and its people’s livelihoods in stages if the North ceases the development of its nuclear program and embarks on a genuine and substantive process for denuclearization,” Yoon said.

“We will implement a large-scale food program; provide assistance for power generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure; and carry out projects to modernize ports and airports for international trade.”

Yoon also offered to help enhance North Korea’s agricultural productivity, modernize its hospitals and medical infrastructure, and implement international investment and financial support initiatives.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I don’t remember a President having their approval rating dropping this fast before:

What began as an approval rating of 52 percent in his first week in office was down to 24 percent by the first week of August, or only half of the 48.6 percent he won in votes during the election, according to Gallup Korea. 

Yoon’s personnel choices were cited as among the biggest factors behind the slide, the pollster said, as controversy erupted over Education Minister Park Soon-ae’s plan to lower the elementary school entry age to 5. Park resigned last week.

The minister was not the only person to draw fire. Yoon’s decision to abolish the first lady’s office backfired when friends and acquaintances of first lady Kim Keon-hee were found to be accompanying and assisting her on official trips, including on Yoon and Kim’s visit to Spain in June.

Economic challenges weighed heavily on the new administration as prices soared along with the interest rate and exchange rate. The COVID-19 pandemic showed no signs of abating as cases mounted with the spread of new variants, while flash floods in the capital area killed at least a dozen people and exposed deep flaws in the country’s flood control systems.

To add to the administration’s woes, the ruling People Power Party was in a constant state of turmoil that was worsened by the embarrassing disclosure of texts Yoon exchanged with the party’s floor leader in which Yoon was seen backbiting about suspended party leader Lee Jun-seok.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but if his numbers continue to decline it makes me wonder if the Korean left will try and invent some way to impeach him like they did to former President Park Geun-hye?