'Text Message Controversy' Followed by Skipped Morning Q&A... President Yoon's Selective Communication?

'Internal Criticism Party Leader' Text Released
Refuses to Answer Questions on Commute Due to External Schedule
Expert: "Doubts Arise About Sincerity of Communication Efforts"

President Yoon Suk-yeol is drinking water during his speech at the launch ceremony of the National Unity Committee held at the Yongsan Presidential Office Building in Seoul on the afternoon of the 27th. / Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] After a text message describing Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, as a "party leader who only did internal backstabbing" was revealed, President Yoon Suk-yeol did not hold any Q&A sessions on his way to work for two days. There are criticisms that President Yoon is engaging in selective communication by avoiding unfavorable questions.

On the morning of the 27th, the day after the text message was made public, President Yoon did not go to the Yongsan Presidential Office but immediately moved to Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to preside over the 4th Emergency Economic Measures Meeting. Although the Q&A on the way to work was naturally omitted due to the external schedule, President Yoon also did not respond to reporters' questions when he returned to the Yongsan Presidential Office after the schedule. On the 28th, President Yoon again skipped the Q&A on the way to work.

Regarding the text message controversy, Choi Young-beom, the Chief Public Relations Officer of the Presidential Office, expressed a position. However, he only said he regretted the exposure of "private conversations" and avoided making specific statements about the content of the text. At a briefing, Chief Choi said, "It is highly undesirable and regrettable that private conversation content was exposed in some way, causing misunderstandings among the public and various media."

He continued, "I understand that Kwon Seong-dong, the acting leader of the People Power Party, has expressed his position and explanation. It is not appropriate for the Presidential Office to officially make additional statements." This implied that it is inappropriate to demand a direct response from President Yoon regarding this text message scandal. Chief Choi also dismissed suspicions of President Yoon's "interference in party affairs," saying, "As far as I know, party affairs are managed well by the party leadership, and President Yoon does not give instructions one by one."

Previously, President Yoon also showed signs of avoiding Q&A on the way to work when there were negative issues surrounding him or the Presidential Office. After his controversial remark on the 5th, "Have you seen any excellent ministers from the previous administration?" President Yoon skipped the Q&A sessions on the 6th and 7th consecutively. Although there were local schedules on both days, it gave the impression that he was avoiding sensitive questions amid the controversy over First Lady Kim Keon-hee's "private aide."

It was similar when the Presidential Office announced on the 11th that it would temporarily suspend the Q&A on the way to work. On the surface, the reason given was to prevent the resurgence of COVID-19, but some speculated that it was a risk management move following the announcement three days earlier, on the 8th, that President Yoon's approval rating for state affairs had fallen into the 30% range for the first time. At that time, the Democratic Party criticized President Yoon, saying, "This is a suspension of communication with the public under the pretext of a COVID-19 resurgence."

Seemingly aware of the opposition party's criticism, President Yoon resumed the Q&A on the way to work just one day after the temporary suspension announcement on the 12th. However, as he repeatedly avoids Q&A whenever there are unfavorable issues, there are criticisms that the purpose of his communication efforts has been undermined. Lee Jun-han, a professor of political science and diplomacy at Incheon National University, said, "The Q&A on the way to work is a system created by President Yoon for the purpose of communication. If he avoids questions depending on the situation, doubts about the sincerity of his communication efforts, which the president emphasizes, are inevitable, and it could lead to a further decline in approval ratings."

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