[Inside Chodong] The President's Morning Commute and Public Anxiety

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol's doorstepping (informal press conference) has now become routine. Considering that he has not missed a single session except for a few morning local schedules during the two months since his inauguration, it is fair to say it has effectively become regularized. Although the brief question-and-answer sessions, sometimes lasting less than a minute, can lead to misunderstandings, the unscripted exchanges with reporters have become President Yoon's trademark.

The fleeting expressions during doorstepping sometimes substitute for the spokesperson's back briefing. Four days ago, regarding personnel criticisms of former Minister of Health and Welfare nominee Kim Seung-hee, who voluntarily withdrew, and Fair Trade Commission Chairman nominee Song Ok-ryul, who was embroiled in a sexual harassment remark controversy, President Yoon raised his finger and said, "Try comparing this with other administrations. The qualifications of the people and such," before turning his back. Naturally, reporters did not miss this. It took less than half a day for dozens of articles with tones like 'Yoon shows signs of discomfort' to flood the media.

Since that day, the presidential office and the ruling party's judgment on doorstepping have gradually shifted. President Yoon's will to fulfill his promise of "not hiding behind aides" remains strong, but the aides' concerns have deepened over the president's unfiltered answers to sensitive questions.

Contrary to the presidential office's self-assessment that "the president has settled as one who answers the public's questions daily" through doorstepping, public opinion remains sharp. Although President Yoon responded to poll results by saying he would "not pay attention," negative evaluations of his job performance have begun to surpass positive ones beyond the margin of error. Unlike the groundbreaking communication style that broke decades of political conventions accumulated in the Blue House, President Yoon's efforts have not helped at all.

The problem lies in President Yoon's attitude. Regarding recent personnel screening processes and criticisms of personnel appointments skewed toward former prosecutors, as well as earlier investigations into the previous administration that sparked political retaliation controversies, he has repeatedly compared them to the "previous administration" to assert his own superiority. In the process of using the previous administration's faults as bait, unrefined remarks and actions have emerged, raising criticism and concerns not only in public opinion but also within some factions of the ruling party.

Perhaps aware of this, President Yoon appeared before reporters three days later with a bright expression. Considering that he skipped doorstepping two days in a row due to consecutive local schedules and that the unofficial influence controversy involving Mr. Shin and his sixth cousin had reached its peak, this could be read as a determination to "break through head-on." On that day, President Yoon responded more flexibly to the controversy than three days earlier, calling the unofficial influence figures "comrades who have been with me since the beginning of my political career."

Despite the ruling party's landslide victory in last month's local elections, President Yoon said, "This is not a situation to talk about political victory," showing his intention to focus on people's livelihoods. A few days later, regarding inflation measures, he indicated a direction by saying, "The government will take all possible measures on the supply side," aiming to ease public anxiety.

The point is not to avoid controversy and only present policies. If the president's daily morning commute becomes a stage that fuels factional conflicts and media play, public anxiety will inevitably grow. A senior official from the presidential office recently said, "Both the president and reporters need a new approach to enhance the positive functions of doorstepping," a perspective worth careful consideration by all. If doorstepping is used solely as a channel for explaining controversies, it will ultimately accumulate layers of disputes, increasing fatigue not only among the media but also the public. / Bae Kyung-hwan, Deputy Chief of Political Department khbae@

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