Yoon Gifts 'Watch' to National Panel and Even Takes a Thankful Selfie... "I Will Take Good Care"

-156-Minute First Dialogue with the People... Visiting the Site and Saying "Thank You" to Rehearsal Participants
-Presidential Office Reflects People's Voices in National Tasks... "Will Check Through Work Reports, etc."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is taking a commemorative photo with citizen panel members after concluding the 1st National Task Inspection Meeting held at the Blue House State Guesthouse in Seoul on the 15th. [Provided by the Presidential Office] [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] "I will look into it carefully."

On the afternoon of the 15th, after the first dialogue with the people, which was originally scheduled for 100 minutes but extended to 156 minutes, President Yoon Suk-yeol expressed his gratitude to the citizen panel. To one panelist who asked a question live, he promised, "I will look into it carefully." The Presidential Office and relevant ministries plan to conduct immediate investigations and prepare alternatives regarding the issues raised that day.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Presidential Office on the 16th, after the ‘1st National Task Review Meeting’ held the previous day at the Blue House State Guest House, President Yoon greeted the citizen panelists throughout the meeting venue. To some officials who had rehearsed early in the morning to ensure smooth live broadcasting, President Yoon said, "Thank you for your hard work," and upon recognizing the panelist who asked a question, he said, "I will look into it carefully."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The final decision on the meeting format was made by President Yoon. Initially, some ministers were to report on the progress and plans of national tasks and receive questions from the public, but President Yoon suggested starting with a dialogue between the people, the president, and the ministers. This is why the originally scheduled 100-minute review meeting was extended by nearly an hour. Among the 11 areas of questions, President Yoon directly provided specific answers or explained directions for 10 before handing the microphone over to the ministers.

The 100 citizen panelists were selected based on recommendations from each ministry, focusing on policy consumers. Various panelists, including full-time housewives raising children, young people in their 30s considering purchasing a home, and women in their 60s caring for elderly mothers, asked questions to the president. In response to a question about real estate measures, President Yoon mentioned the recent ‘Villa King’ incident in the Seoul metropolitan area. He said, "I came across news about innocent victims struggling due to the death of the Villa King featured in the media," and promised on-site support through the ‘Joint Tenant Legal Support Task Force (TF).’ Regarding drug prevention measures asked by a man working at the Korea Anti-Drug Movement Headquarters Addiction Rehabilitation Center, President Yoon shared his past experience in drug crackdowns during his time as a prosecutor.

After the live broadcast ended, President Yoon willingly said "Come on over" to attendees requesting selfies and took selfies with them. He accepted all other selfie requests from attendees before leaving. Each of the 100 citizen panelists received a presidential watch signed by President Yoon. A Presidential Office official explained, "It is a token of gratitude for attending the first dialogue with the people and jointly reviewing policies."

The Presidential Office plans to hold discussions with the relevant ministries regarding the policy suggestions and criticisms from the public raised that day. Improvements will be reviewed during the ministries’ work report sessions continuing from the end of this year into early next year, and progress will be promptly communicated to the public. A senior government official who attended the meeting said, "Since there are cases where the president gave direct instructions, we will verify the situation and work on preparing alternatives," adding, "Each ministry will also increase opportunities to explain policies to the public."

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