Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Will Yoon become more approachable leader by lowering doorstep to reporters?
President Yoon Suk-yeol gestures as he answers questions from reporters on his way to the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, June 13. Joint Press Corps
By Nam Hyun-woo
Opinions mixed about President Yoon's direct answers to reporters
By Nam Hyun-woo
Since his inauguration on May 10, President Yoon Suk-yeol has taken questions from reporters and answered them every day on his way to the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul. He vowed to be an interactive president during the presidential election campaign, and his impromptu question-and-answer sessions with journalists on his way to work could be seen as a small gesture to live up to his commitment.
The president directly and frequently answering questions from reporters is unprecedented in Korean politics. In the past, there were usually a handful of opportunities for reporters to meet the president, when they were invited to Cheong Wa Dae, the previous presidential office, to cover certain events or the president's schedule on important days, while normally the presidents' thoughts would be conveyed to reporters through a spokesperson. Thus, presidential office correspondents could only occasionally pose questions to the president directly.
President Yoon Suk-yeol answers reporters' questions at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, June 15. Joint Press Corps
From May 10 to June 16, Yoon answered reporters' questions 16 times. During these brief meetings with the press ― in which reporters do what is called doorstepping or approach sources for comments without prior arrangement ― Yoon took as many as eight questions and conveyed important messages related to current issues. Most of his answers made headlines.
The first time Yoon spoke off the cuff to reporters since stepping into office was on May 11. The president commented on his inauguration speech even before reporters began asking him any questions.
“Some criticized that I didn't talk about national unity during my inauguration speech yesterday. Right, I didn't. This is because it (the importance of national unity) is so obvious that I don't even need to speak about it,” he said.
In the following days, Yoon mostly faced questions on his Cabinet picks, who were opposed by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), and gave candid, even blunt responses using straightforward rhetoric.
When asked if he was willing to appoint Cabinet ministers without any parliamentary hearing, he briefly said “some of them will be appointed anyway.” To criticisms that prosecutors dominate his administration, Yoon, a former prosecutor general, countered that “lawyers from liberal civic groups dominated government jobs in the past,” on June 8 and, “I will not hesitate appointing former prosecutors to ranking positions if necessary,” on June 9.
Yoon was direct, rather than ambiguous, when he talked about touchy diplomatic issues.
When asked to answer how he would respond in the event that China reacts furiously about his pro-U.S. policy stance amid the U.S.-China rivalry, Yoon said on May 20 that “Korea's relations with China are not a zero-sum game.”
On May 23, when he attended an online summit on the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), he told reporters that “if Seoul does not join the IPEF, there will be damage to our national interests.”
Yoon didn't refrain from criticizing partisan politics either.
On May 27, he criticized the National Assembly over its slow process in approving the government's extra budget plan. “I waited until 8 p.m. last night with hopes for the Assembly's approval of the plan, but the Assembly did not respond to the public's demand for the extra budget,” he said. “I didn't expect the Assembly would be this uncooperative.”
While stating the government's efforts to contain inflation, Yoon also used strong words, saying that “the government will introduce all possible measures related to the supply side to contain inflation.”
Of note in Yoon's 16 impromptu press conferences is that the he is becoming more confident in speaking to the press without prior preparation. In May, Yoon spent approximately two minutes answering a couple of questions, but as of June, he stays longer with journalists, responding to seven to eight questions at a time.
President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers a speech during an event for startups at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, May 25. Joint Press Corps
Unprecedented political venture
Pundits and politicians agree that Yoon's efforts to communicate with the public directly are unprecedented, compared to that of previous administrations. But they presented mixed opinions on the consequences.
“There is no precedent of a president speaking directly to reporters on a daily basis,” political commentator Rhee Jong-hoon said. “Of all its advantages, such door-stepping reveals whether the president is listening to criticisms on state affairs or monitoring public sentiment.”
In the past, it was difficult to grasp what presidents' attitudes on pending issues were and how they reacted to criticisms, as the nation's leaders seldom had opportunities to have direct interactions with reporters or the public, Rhee said.
To answer reporters' questions on a daily basis, however, Rhee said Yoon has to know about the criticisms of his policies, thus, the encounters are mutually beneficial for both the president and the public.
“Of course, he can make mistakes while answering questions on the spot,” Rhee said. “However, Yoon should make efforts to continue allowing such door-stepping encounters throughout his presidency.”
The presidential office and the ruling party seem to agree that reporters' door-stepping sessions with Yoon are mostly beneficial.
Ruling People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok described Yoon's conversation with reporters as “a symbol of the Yoon government's efforts to reach out to the public.
The presidential office said that Yoon's brief press conferences help his audience more clearly understand certain policies or issues, as he himself answers questions openly.
“In the past, reporters and the public consuming news stories had to spend time trying to interpret what the president had in mind, as if a group of blind men were touching an elephant,” an official at the presidential office said. “Now, the president himself talks about an issue straightforwardly. This leaves no room for reporters or the public to interpret his intention in different ways.”
Presidential spokesperson Kang In-sun also oftentimes encourages reporters to understand the president's comments as they are, because it would be unnecessary to add additional explanations on them.
Cargo containers are stacked at Busan Port on June 10, as nationwide cargo transportation came to a halt due to a unionized truckers' strike. Yonhap
Importance of president's remarks
Amid the optimism, however, some are raising concerns that Yoon's off-the-cuff remarks are potentially swaying the entire direction of government policies.
“I think the president's door-stepping is doing more harm than good,” said Park Sang-byeong, a professor at Inha University's Graduate School of Policy Science. “Most of Yoon's comments are obvious answers about pending matters, and they are not the remarks that the public want to hear from the president.”
“As a leader in charge of state matters, the president has to speak about the government's ultimate stance on a certain matter after reviews and debates have finished,” he said. “If the president drops his idea on certain matters to reporters like this, the entire government has to follow Yoon's personal ideas even before beginning proper debate on the issues.”
Park cited Yoon's June 10 comments on the recent unionized cargo truckers' nationwide strike, in which the president said it would be inappropriate for the government to intervene in a labor-management dispute.
The truckers launched the strike as they demand an extension of the Safe Trucking Freight Rates System, which was aimed at preventing consignors from paying substandard safe trucking freight rates. After a weeklong walkout, which caused major disruptions in cargo transportation, the truckers and the transport ministry on June 14 reached an agreement to extend the system, which was initially scheduled to expire on Dec. 31.
“Basically, it was a legal matter, which involves political parties, the land ministry, the management and the workers,” Park said. “Yoon was supposed to comment on this matter after deciding what the government's stance was and how it would consult with political parties.”
Kim Chong-in, a former chief of Yoon's presidential campaign, also had a pessimistic view on Yoon's direct encounters with the press.
“We should not consider the president's dialogue with reporters as his communication with the public,” Kim said during an interview with broadcaster CBS on June 8. “I believe good communication is understanding what the public wants from the government and meeting their expectations.”