President Yoon: "Sincere Apologies to the People... Will Undertake Government Reform"

National Address and Press Conference "All My Fault"
"Focusing All Efforts on Prioritizing People's Livelihood Changes in Remaining Term"

President Yoon Suk-yeol bows his head in apology to the public during the "National Address and Press Conference" held at the briefing room of the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, on the morning of the 7th. · Photo by Yonhap News

President Yoon Suk-yeol stated on the 7th, "Everything is my fault and a result of my shortcomings," and expressed "a sincere apology to the people."

On the morning of the same day, President Yoon held a national address and press conference at the Presidential Office, saying, "I believe the president's role is not to make excuses." Marking the midpoint of his term on the 10th, President Yoon introduced the achievements of his two and a half years in office and responded specifically to reporters' questions.

In particular, at the beginning of his address, President Yoon apologized to the public and stood up to bow his head. He said, "It is not shameful for the highest official of the government to apologize to the people; rather, it is a way to respect and honor them," adding, "I thought it was right to show gratitude and respect to the people."

This direct apology is interpreted as a response amid the situation where the government's approval rating has hit a record low in the 10% range and allegations of interference in candidate selection arose following the release of recorded phone conversations with political broker Myeong Tae-gyun. Marking the midpoint of his term, President Yoon vowed to refocus government efforts on improving the lives of the people during the remaining two and a half years, reaffirming his initial resolve. He emphasized, "I will return to my original intention and start anew," and "I will devote all my energy to working until May 9, 2027, when my term ends."

President Yoon said, "I have truly worked tirelessly for the past two and a half years. Although there may have been many shortcomings in the eyes of the people, my sincerity has always been by their side," adding, "However, regardless of my efforts, there were times when I caused concern to the people." He also stated, "Some initiatives started for the livelihood of the people and the future of the Republic of Korea caused inconvenience to the public, and matters related to my close associates also caused worry to the people."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering a "National Address and Press Conference" on the morning of the 7th at the briefing room of the Yongsan Presidential Office Building in Seoul. · Photo by Yonhap News

President Yoon also promised to stabilize prices and the housing market, support small business owners and self-employed individuals, and expand welfare for the vulnerable. He said, "Our government's welfare is not populist welfare but welfare for the vulnerable," adding, "We will continuously expand welfare for the vulnerable and steadily increase the number of beneficiaries of service welfare for the elderly and disabled."

Regarding diplomacy and security, he said, "We will establish a perfect ROK-U.S. security posture with the new administration in Washington to firmly protect our freedom and peace," and "We will further advance security, economic, and cutting-edge technology cooperation in the ROK-U.S. alliance to broaden the playing field for our youth and businesses." He continued, "We will also accelerate efforts to enhance the dynamism of our economy," emphasizing, "We will actively discover and nurture new growth engines such as the semiconductor industry and artificial intelligence (AI), strengthen policy support, and continue to actively promote the complete restoration of the nuclear power ecosystem."

President Yoon pledged to steadfastly pursue the 4+1 reforms. He mentioned, "The 4+1 reforms?medical, pension, labor, education reforms, and overcoming the population crisis?are tasks directly related to people's livelihoods and protecting our future," adding, "We will resolve excessive competition and open an era of livable local regions to find fundamental solutions to the population crisis."

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