Yoon Government Focused on Economic Reform for 30 Days... Prioritizing Price Control and Livelihood Management

Yoon "There Are More Than One Urgent Issues"... Worries About Prices While Pointing Out Side Dishes With Aides

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] President Yoon Suk-yeol marked one month since his inauguration on the 10th. Following a South Korea-US summit just 11 days after taking office and enjoying the ruling party's victory in local elections, he is being evaluated as having led the government relatively steadily. On the morning of the 9th, while heading to the Yongsan Presidential Office building, President Yoon told reporters who asked about his 'one-month inauguration' impression, "I am originally someone who lives without impressions," adding, "I have to work hard. There are more than just one or two urgent issues."

During the past month, the keywords President Yoon has emphasized in governance are 'economy' and 'reform.' This is due to the judgment that people's livelihood is more important than anything else amid growing concerns about stagflation caused by soaring prices and rising interest rates. According to officials from the Presidential Office, President Yoon not only discusses economic issues during meetings with his aides after taking office but also openly shares his thoughts on economic matters in private settings such as meals. A senior official from the Presidential Office said, "(President Yoon) sometimes points out side dishes at restaurants while talking about prices," adding, "He also shows great interest in policies aimed at restoring the people's economy promoted by government ministries."

President Yoon's first order after inauguration was also focused on people's livelihood. On the second day after taking office, during his first meeting with senior secretaries on the 11th of last month, he said, "Please consider measures to curb the causes of rising prices." In particular, he gave detailed instructions, saying, "International raw material prices are fluctuating wildly, and due to the Ukraine situation, the price of wheat in our country has skyrocketed, affecting dietary habits," adding, "Because of energy issues and stagflation, a red light is turning on for industrial competitiveness, so everyone should pay attention to this."

Two days later, he urgently convened a 'Macroeconomic and Financial Situation Review Meeting.' As abnormal signals such as exchange rates and soaring prices were detected one after another, he took the initiative to directly check the macroeconomic situation. On that day, President Yoon judged the domestic economic situation, including financial markets, real economy, and prices, as a crisis.

At the National Assembly, which he visited six days after inauguration, he also emphasized the 'economy.' The word President Yoon used most frequently during his 15-minute policy speech at the National Assembly was 'economy,' which he repeated 10 times, asking for thorough management of macroeconomic stability, including interest rates and prices, and the people's economy.

Recently, he has been emphasizing 'reform' day after day. In the second half of the year, it is expected that there will be more time to discuss detailed policies such as national agendas with each ministry. President Yoon's will for reform has become more concrete. At last week's senior secretaries meeting, he likened regulations that hinder corporate investment to 'sandbags,' stating, "I will personally take charge of difficult and complex regulations." He explained, "Now is the time for the government to respond by removing regulations that block corporate investment," adding, "Our companies find it difficult to compete and run in the global market while carrying sandbags. All ministries should recognize themselves as departments for deregulation and boldly abolish regulations that hinder corporate activities."

He also gave specific instructions, saying, "Shadow regulations such as administrative regulations unrelated to laws should be definitely improved, and regulations that can be handled by presidential decrees and ministerial ordinances among necessary legal improvements should be processed promptly." He also said that for legal amendments, cooperation with the National Assembly is essential to ensure deregulation is implemented.

At a recent Cabinet meeting, he strongly criticized education administration and called for a change in mindset and reform. After urging, "Please make extraordinary efforts to nurture semiconductor talent," during the discussion among Cabinet members, President Yoon raised his voice, saying, "If there are regulations to be lifted, they should be boldly lifted, and if the government needs to support financially, it should be done boldly."

In the political sphere, attention is being paid to the positive change in President Yoon's job approval rating. According to a survey conducted by Gallup Korea on the 2nd, asking over 1,000 people nationwide aged 18 and older, the percentage of respondents who said President Yoon is 'doing well' in his job rose by 2 percentage points from the previous survey to 53%, a majority. The percentage who said he is 'doing poorly' was 34%. Based on this, a ruling party official from the transition team said, "Once organizational restructuring work, such as the controversial prosecution personnel reshuffle, is completed, President Yoon's policy momentum will proceed rapidly through each ministry in the second half of the year."

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