[Public Voices] 'Politician Yoon Seok-yeol' Must Open His Ears Wider Than His Mouth

Kwangjae Lee, Secretary General of the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters

Lee Kwang-jae, Secretary General of the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters

What does President Yoon Seok-yeol need the most? Asking this question just over six months into the new administration’s launch reflects how challenging our situation is. Recently, the United States has been strengthening alliances, accelerating protection of its domestic industries, and raising interest rates to curb inflation. The intensifying power struggles in regions such as Russia, China, and the Middle East are escalating into resource competitions. As a result, the South Korean economy is also facing an emergency.

President Yoon Seok-yeol is not a prepared politician. He has no experience handling economic policies. Most of his career has been as a former Prosecutor General and head of various institutions. Therefore, it is understandable that the public harbors doubts and anxieties about how he will overcome this critical and complex crisis. This unease stems less from a lack of deep economic knowledge and more from concerns about his political skills in listening to and reconciling differing views.

Last month, the entire nation went through a rough patch with a Korean listening test. The controversy began with the report of President Yoon’s use of profanity during his visit to New York, USA. The president’s verbal slips had already surfaced in conflicts with former party leader Lee Jun-seok and during door-stepping incidents. However, the president’s verbal mistakes are not the main issue.

The real problem lies elsewhere. The refusal of an MBC reporter to board the presidential aircraft during an overseas trip in relation to the profanity report cannot be seen as an appropriate response. The memo saying “This is ridiculous” by the Chief of Public Relations during the National Assembly audit session is a serious incident showing that the presidential office staff perceive the opposition party not as partners in governance but as a nuisance. Criticism is being raised that the president and his senior secretaries are responding to problems in the manner of institution heads rather than politicians.

In his inaugural speech, President Yoon expressed concerns about ultra-low growth, massive unemployment, deepening polarization, and the breakdown of community cohesion due to various social conflicts. He identified anti-intellectualism as the root cause. The concept of anti-intellectualism, which emerged in the United States, was used to criticize the rise of McCarthyism by totalitarian forces that endangered democracy. It was a national declaration to pursue proper democratic politics, not authoritarianism or totalitarianism.

Making Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol president was also a national declaration that he would not be loyal to any individual. So I ask: Wasn’t President Yoon’s anti-intellectualism a declaration to open his ears wider than his mouth, to listen seriously to unpleasant voices, and to abandon stubbornness and arrogance? Wasn’t it a national promise to run the government with an honest attitude that admits mistakes? Wasn’t that anti-intellectualism?

The global economic crisis of 2023 is approaching. The president’s ability to listen is more urgently needed than ever. To effectively respond to this crisis, the united strength of the people is essential. I sincerely hope that in the remaining four and a half years, President Yoon will find his proper role not as “Institution Head Yoon Seok-yeol” but as “Politician Yoon Seok-yeol” and leave behind a successful government.

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