Yoon's Hardline Mode Causes Rift in Presidential Office... Advisors Keeping Distance

Senior Secretaries Remain Silent After Martial Law Incident
Concerns Rise Over Extreme Actions by Supporters

President Yoon Suk-yeol is attending the third impeachment trial session held at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 21st, personally presenting his defense from the respondent's seat. Photo by Yonhap News

As President Yoon Suk-yeol appeared in person at the Constitutional Court impeachment trial to deny the grounds for impeachment related to the emergency martial law situation, internal fractures among senior aides in the presidential office are being detected. Observers suggest that senior secretaries, who had not directly expressed their opinions since the December 3 emergency martial law incident, have begun to distance themselves as President Yoon continues to rally conservative support during the arrest and detention process, and some supporters engage in extreme actions such as the riot at the Seoul Western District Court.

One aide in the presidential office said on the 22nd, "The senior secretaries continue to hold morning meetings chaired by Presidential Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok as usual even after President Yoon’s detention, but it is true that the internal atmosphere has been shaken by the recent series of events," adding, "There is concern that President Yoon’s hardline stance might be mistakenly equated with the opinions of the entire presidential office staff."

In particular, regarding the incident on the 20th when an administrative officer from the Civil Society Secretariat sent a text message urging President Yoon’s supporters to gather at the Constitutional Court to an acquaintance, the presidential office immediately announced the resignation of the officer to quell the incitement controversy. A presidential office official said, "Officer A sent the text personally to an acquaintance he knew, and it has nothing to do with the presidential office." Since the presidential office, which should focus on supporting Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok during President Yoon’s suspension, could be misunderstood as fully supporting President Yoon’s supporters’ appeals, they sought to draw a clear line.

According to a key ruling party official, some senior secretaries who had closely assisted President Yoon but showed differing views on the martial law situation reportedly feel a significant sense of loss. Another aide in the presidential office explained, "There are senior secretaries who do not agree with President Yoon’s hardline mode, but they have made no public remarks on the matter," adding, "Except for the Chief of Staff, other senior secretaries are refraining from speaking as much as possible and keeping a low profile to avoid getting caught in the crossfire."

The fact that the aides who guarded the Hannam-dong residence during the execution of the arrest warrant for President Yoon on the 15th were limited mainly to those who had worked in the Blue House during the Park Geun-hye administration and experienced impeachment, such as Jang Soon-chil, Jeong Ho-yoon, and Jeong Ho-seong, also supports this. At that time, except for Chief of Staff Jeong, the senior secretaries did not gather at the residence.

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