Presidential gaffes

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Opinion

Wed, November 29, 2023 | 02:36

Editorial

Presidential gaffes

Posted : 2023-01-19 16:50

Updated : 2023-01-19 16:50

Yoon should focus on mending ties with Iran

Teheran-ro in southern Seoul's Gangnam is the only street in Korea named after a foreign city. Likewise, the Iranian capital named one of its boulevards Seoul Street in 1977.

The sisterhood relationship between the two capitals demonstrates a successful example of pragmatic diplomacy between Korea and Iran.

President Yoon Suk Yeol damaged it sharply, if not entirely already.

While speaking to Korean troops in the UAE earlier this week during his state visit to the country, Yoon compared UAE-Iran ties to inter-Korean relations and said Iran is the UAE's "enemy and biggest threat."

That prompted the Iranian government to summon the Korean ambassador to protest Yoon's remark. Before that, a foreign ministry spokesperson said the Korean president was "totally unaware" of the Middle East situation and was being "meddlesome." Despite the efforts of Korean diplomats to appease Iran, Tehran says it is still waiting for an "explanation."

We don't want to make others think that Yoon forgot to do his homework before departing on his latest overseas trip. His basic knowledge of the regional circumstances may not be entirely wrong. However, there are far more crucial "basics" required of a national leader. Call it diplomatic sense or presidential etiquette. But nothing shows the situation better than the old saying, "A man's word is as good as a bond" ― not to mention a president's.

Yoon has been infamous for gaffes since he was a presidential candidate, as not a day passed without a slip of the tongue from him. An aide also confided that the president "monopolizes 99 percent of conversations." A leader should listen more and talk less. Yoon's language is also rough, reflecting his long ― and only ― career as a public prosecutor. He seems to have risen to the nation's top job before having any chances to metamorphose from a top law enforcement officer. Yet he must catch up as quickly as possible.

Many Koreans appear nervous whenever their president goes abroad. In London last September, Yoon failed to view the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II lying in state, blaming traffic. In New York days later, he caused a stir with an expletives-filled remark after a chat with U.S. President Joe Biden. Commenting on Japan's military rearmament, he said, "Who can say something?" Faced with North Korean provocations, Yoon said, "We must pay them back a hundred and a thousand times." Opposition parties say Yoon's mouth is the "greatest security risk."

Foreign ministry officials and Yoon's diplomatic aides are pitiable but deserve criticism. They are busy cleaning up the mess caused by their boss, failing to support him properly by speaking more frankly. We know talking straight to the president is hard, but they must do so for the entire nation ― and the president himself.

The reality is to the contrary. At the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee Tuesday, the governing party leader lashed out at foreign ministry officials for beating around the bush, asking, "Isn't it true that the UAE-Iran relationship is not good?" adding fuel to the fire. A North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker asked what was wrong with the president talking about foreign countries' problems. It was hard to believe the lawmaker was once a career diplomat; he might want to earn some political points.

Yoon jumped into the top job without spending time in the legislative or executive branch. That has served as both a disadvantage in conducting state affairs and an excuse for repeated blunders. However, unlike domestic affairs, diplomatic mistakes are hard to reverse because there are always counterparts.

An aide to former President Moon Jae-in said recently that a Korean president's job is 90 percent diplomacy. However, the public is increasingly skeptical about whether the current chief executive can handle that.

People cannot change their habits or perceptions quickly. But Yoon must think at least three times before making diplomatic remarks. Still, he must first mend the ties with Iran for himself.