Yoon Strengthens Livelihood and Field Schedules... Ruling Party and Government "All-Out Effort to Improve People's Lives"

Every Other Day, Minsheng and Economic Schedules
Reflected in Approval Ratings... Veto and Communication Criticisms Also Raised

President Yoon Suk-yeol is marking the third year of his administration as a year for restoring people’s livelihoods, actively engaging in schedules to listen to the public and visit livelihood sites. President Yoon’s goal is to make economic recovery tangible for the people.

According to the Presidential Office on the 14th, President Yoon has carried out five livelihood and economic-related events from the 1st to this day, excluding the New Year’s greeting meeting. This means he has been conducting livelihood-related schedules roughly once every two working days.

The schedule that the Presidential Office and government put great effort into was the New Year’s work report. While previously each ministry reported their issues to the president individually, this year they introduced a “livelihood forum” format where ministries present plans on specific themes and experts and citizens participate in discussions together.

On the 4th, President Yoon held the first livelihood forum with the public at the Small and Medium Business Human Resources Development Institute in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, setting targets of ▲$700 billion in exports ▲$35 billion in foreign investment ▲$57 billion in overseas orders. He also announced plans to promote financial support for small business owners and self-employed individuals, as well as measures to revitalize the local economy.

On the 10th, President Yoon personally visited Baeksong Village Complex 5 in Ilsan-gu, Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, a first-generation new town, toured apartment living spaces and underground parking lots, and then held a livelihood forum. At this event, President Yoon announced plans to proceed with reconstruction of houses over 30 years old without safety inspections and to revise regulations on multi-homeowners.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Livelihood issues also surged in party-government discussions. On the same day, senior officials from the Presidential Office, government, and the People Power Party held a high-level party-government council at the National Assembly and announced Lunar New Year livelihood policies including postponing electricity bill increases for 3.65 million vulnerable households, providing 39 trillion won in liquidity support for small businesses and SMEs during the holiday, and expanding the monthly purchase limit of Onnuri gift certificates to 500,000 won.

Lee Gwan-seop, Chief of Staff to the President, emphasized, “As partners in state governance, the party and government must responsibly cooperate under the banner of prioritizing people’s livelihoods to improve the lives of citizens facing difficulties.” Han Dong-hoon, Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, also agreed, saying, “We must mobilize all our capabilities to take care of people’s livelihoods. The party, government, and Presidential Office must work in unison.”

President Yoon’s livelihood efforts appear to be partially reflected in approval ratings. According to a survey by Gallup Korea released on the 12th, President Yoon’s approval rating for the second week of January (9th?11th) was 33%, up 2 percentage points from the previous survey (survey of 1,002 men and women nationwide aged 18 and over, 95% confidence level with ±3.1 percentage points margin of error; detailed results available on the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website). Reasons for positive evaluations included “economy and livelihoods (6%),” “policies for ordinary citizens and welfare (4%),” and “real estate policies (3%),” reflecting livelihood-related areas.

However, the approval rating remains stuck in the 30% range, and ongoing politically charged issues make optimism difficult. In the same survey, the most cited reasons for disapproval were economy, livelihoods, and prices (16%). The exercise of veto power (10%) is also a hindrance. President Yoon has exercised veto power against the double special investigations on allegations such as Kim Geon-hee’s involvement in Deutsche Motors stock manipulation and the Daejang-dong 5 billion club. There is also a high expectation that President Yoon will exercise veto power if the special investigation law on the Itaewon disaster is forwarded to the government.

While new communication methods such as livelihood forums are being conducted, criticisms of insufficient communication (7%) and being autocratic or unilateral (6%) persist. Because of this, there are calls for President Yoon to hold a New Year press conference to communicate with the public in real time and clarify related controversies. A senior official from the Presidential Office responded regarding the possibility of holding a New Year press conference, saying, “We are reviewing various options. We will inform you once a decision is made.”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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