"Daytime Drinking Remarks Groundless" to the Presidential Office... Kim Nam-guk: "President Yoon, a Drinker, No Smoke Without Fire"

"Day drinking may be acceptable in the prosecution's unique culture, but it has a negative impact on the public service sector"

Kim Nam-guk, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] The Democratic Party of Korea criticized President Yoon Suk-yeol's reported remark to his secretarial staff that "day drinking is okay if necessary" during communication, saying, "Should the public have to worry about the government's public service discipline?" and added, "While day drinking might be possible within the unique culture of the prosecution, we hope the president recognizes the negative impact this could have on the entire public service sector."

Kim Nam-guk, spokesperson for the Democratic Party's Central Election Countermeasures Committee, pointed out in a written briefing on the 17th, "It is shocking that the president, who came to the National Assembly asking for cooperation by saying that Korea and its people are facing a crisis, told his aides that day drinking is okay."

Spokesperson Kim continued, "Not only has the public service discipline been weakened by late arrivals and leaving work on time just days after inauguration, but now it is absurd to say that lunch hour restrictions are being removed and day drinking is allowed," adding, "Although a senior presidential official hurriedly denied the report as 'groundless,' given President Yoon's known fondness for drinking, there is no smoke without fire."

He emphasized, "The president must realize that as the top public official of Korea, every word and action sets the standard for hundreds of thousands of public servants," and "He should be more careful with every word he says and every action he takes."

Earlier, a media outlet reported that President Yoon urged, "If day drinking is necessary during the process of explaining and persuading the public about policies, then do it as much as needed." This was in the context of instructing to remove lunch hour restrictions so that aides could meet and communicate sufficiently with experts and the media.

However, the presidential office denied the report, calling it "groundless." A presidential office official told Yonhap News Agency and others on the previous day, "The president has repeatedly emphasized active communication to his aides to accurately grasp public sentiment and reflect it in state affairs," but "the claim that he said 'if necessary, drink during the day' is groundless."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.