Yoon Administration Kicks Off 'Integration and Cooperation'... A Change in the President Who Used to Say "Follow the Law!"

Emphasis on Unity and Cooperation at the First Meeting of the Second Half National Assembly Presidium
Attention on Changes in Approach Amid Negative Evaluations of Personnel Renewal

President Yoon Suk-yeol is having a conversation at a dinner hosted for the newly appointed Speaker and Deputy Speakers of the 21st National Assembly's second half, held on the 19th at the Yongsan Presidential Office Building in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Yoon Jin Kim] Is President Yoon Seok-yeol, who has passed his 100th day in office, starting a move toward integration and cooperation? After having dinner with the second-half Speaker of the National Assembly on the 19th, President Yoon has shown different actions from before to secure momentum for state affairs, such as expanding the security zone around former President Moon Jae-in's residence.

From the 22nd, security around protests and rallies near former President Moon's residence will be strengthened. When Speaker Kim Jin-pyo suggested on the 19th that measures were needed due to the radicalization of protests and rallies, President Yoon immediately ordered the Deputy Director of the Presidential Security Service to be dispatched on-site for prompt response. On the 21st, the Presidential Security Service announced that the security zone around former President Moon's residence in Pyeongsan Village, Yangsan, Gyeongnam, would be expanded from the residence fence to up to 300 meters, and inspections and searches within the security zone would also be strengthened.

The Security Service explained that this measure was taken considering the recent appearance of safety hazards such as box cutters during protests and rallies in Pyeongsan Village and the suffering of nearby residents. However, since President Yoon had previously emphasized legal responses and had not taken special measures against protests, this security reinforcement is interpreted as a move to respond to opposition party requests and to send a political message of harmony.

When it became known that President Yoon promptly responded to Speaker Kim's request to strengthen security around former President Moon's residence, both ruling and opposition parties showed positive reactions. Shin Hyun-young, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed gratitude to President Yoon and Speaker Kim at a National Assembly briefing on the 21st, saying, "It is late but welcome." Yang Geum-hee, floor spokesperson for the People Power Party, commented, "It is a meaningful decision in terms of law and principle, cooperation, and national unity."

At the dinner with the Speaker of the National Assembly, President Yoon also urged cooperation between ruling and opposition parties and communication between the National Assembly and the government. Meeting the Speaker on the 19th, he emphasized cooperation, saying, "The ruling and opposition parties must join forces to overcome difficulties," and requested cooperation for the government's legislative agenda, saying, "We also plan to submit several bills to the National Assembly. We ask for your support." Deputy Speaker Kim Young-joo suggested strengthening communication with the opposition, saying, "It would be good if the President meets with many opposition lawmakers and listens to their opinions."

Attention is focused on whether this will become an opportunity for the Yoon administration to take a more active approach in establishing communication channels with the opposition. President Yoon has been criticized for being passive about integration, as he did not mention messages related to cooperation and integration in his inaugural speech, Liberation Day address, or 100-day press conference. Although he passed the 100-day mark on the 17th, it is unusual that meetings with the opposition have not yet been arranged. In the previous administrations, former President Moon met with ruling and opposition leaders nine days after inauguration, and former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak met with them within one and a half months and two months, respectively.

Since the first organizational and personnel reform plan announced by the Presidential Office on the 21st has been evaluated as "strengthening close aides rather than personnel renewal," opinions are emerging that a bold strategy is needed for the Yoon Seok-yeol administration to promote integration and cooperation going forward. Former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won appeared on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' on the 22nd and pointed out, "It would have been better if (President Yoon) had made bold personnel changes and started cooperation, but if he just replaced two people and said the reform was done, the public will not accept it," urging active moves toward integration.

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