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.
President-elect in hot seat over backpedaling on key pledges
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol applauds during a meeting with officials at Chuncheon Station in Gangwon Province, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps
By Nam Hyun-woo
THAAD deployment, abolition of gender ministry dropped from Yoon's national policies
By Nam Hyun-woo
The incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration finds itself in hot water over its policy roadmap for the next five years, as some of his key election pledges ― disbanding the gender equality ministry, raising soldiers' salaries and deploying additional U.S. missile systems in South Korea ― have been missing from a list of key tasks.
Those pledges were used as catchy slogans throughout Yoon's presidential election campaign, after his Facebook postings that promoted such ideas grabbed voters' attention despite their low feasibility. As the pledges were exempt from the roadmap, however, the Yoon administration faces growing criticism for backing down from its pledges.
During its Supreme Council meeting, main opposition People Power Party (PPP) Chairman Lee Jun-seok said the Yoon government “should ask for the public's understanding in a humble gesture” for backpedaling on election pledges.
“In the policy roadmap, Yoon's pledge to raise a soldier's salary to over 2 million won ($1,590) immediately was downgraded to a gradual salary hike by 2025,” Lee said. “Though it must have been a tough decision based on the current Moon Jae-in government's fiscal deficits, it is still regretful.”
Lee also said the exemption of disbanding the Ministry of Gender Equality was “an inevitable choice,” because the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) will not cooperate on revising the Government Organization Act, but it is “still regretful that we (the PPP and the Yoon administration) did not even try.”
People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok touches his face mask during the party's supreme council meeting at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps
Lee's comments came a day after the presidential transition committee unveiled the list of its top 110 national tasks for the Yoon administration, Tuesday, which did not include some of Yoon's key campaign pledges, including deploying more U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries on South Korean soil.
Yoon saw his support rate drop sharply in January amid controversies over his wife's academic background and the PPP's infighting. However, he reversed the decline with catchy social media postings on disbanding the gender equality ministry, which grabbed the attentions of young male voters who have been skeptical of the ministry's role. The postings helped the public grasp policy ideas more easily.
However, the feasibility of those pledges have been questioned.
Shutting down the gender equality ministry by revising the Government Organization Act requires the cooperation of the DPK, which holds a majority in the 300-seat National Assembly and opposes Yoon's idea.
The promise to raise a soldier's monthly salary to 2 million won was also deemed unlikely because of its financial burden. Currently, Korea's conscripted soldiers receive on average 540,000 won in salary a month, and raising this to 2 million won will require at least 5.1 trillion won in extra expenditures every year.
The pledge to add more THAAD batteries also faced doubts, because installing the air defense system requires agreements from the United States and residents near potential bases in South Korea. It could also aggravate Seoul's relations with Beijing. South Korea became the target of China's economic retaliation after deciding to deploy a THAAD battery in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province, in 2016, even though the missile system is aimed at countering Pyongyang's threats. China claims that the powerful radar of the THAAD system could be used to spy on its military maneuvers.
In the policy roadmap, the transition committee stated that the Yoon administration will “pursue weapons development programs and multi-layer defense systems for a timely response against North Korea's missile threats,” but did not specify THAAD batteries or long-range surface-to-air missile (L-SAM) interception systems that Seoul is developing.
During his confirmation hearing, Yoon's foreign minister nominee Park Jin also said “further study is required” to add more THAAD batteries, which was interpreted as a prudent approach to avoid irritating China or triggering North Korea's provocations.
Presidential transition committee chairman Ahn Cheol-soo touches the screen during a press conference on the incoming Yoon Suk-yeol government's policy roadmap at the committee's office in Tongui-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, Tuesday. Joint Press Corps
The prudent approach, however, drew criticism from U.S.-based experts.
Center for Strategic and International Studies Korea Chair Victor Cha told Voice of America that it was important for the Yoon government “to remain consistent” with its message on missile defense.
“The Yoon government was clear during the campaign that it must approach the issue of missile defense as a national security issue prompted by North Korea's accelerated missile testing, and not an issue that requires Chinese approval,” Cha said.
“If they waver from this, then China will seek to influence Korean decision making. If they stay firm, then China will respect the decision, even if it does not like it.”
Against this backdrop, North Korea on Wednesday test fired a projectile assumed to be a ballistic missile in to the East Sea, marking the 14th missile test this year and the first after its leader Kim Jong-un dropped hints at using nuclear weapons for other than defensive purposes.