By Mitch Shin
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol had an exclusive interview with the Korean Broadcasting System, Korea's public broadcaster, earlier this month, skipping a press conference that most former South Korean presidents did every January.
Holding a press conference in January is a platform for the president to deliver his or her message to the people. More specifically, the president can introduce the government's policy and goals to the people. It is one of the customs former presidents followed as it elevates the level of transparency in politics and democracy.
However, Yoon's one-on-one interview with KBS showed his attitude toward the values his predecessors cared to keep. The presidential office's explanation that such an interview system is often selected by other countries is not persuasive, as the public wanted to see Yoon answering questions in a press conference. Also, considering his wife Kim Keon Hee's Dior bag scandal and his low approval ratings, Yoon should have met as many journalists as he could to explain his stance on the scandal and his plan to garner more public support.
Consequentially, his defense of his wife's bribery allegation with no apologies fueled public anger — which goes against his brand centered on justice and fairness when he was a presidential candidate. The interviewer's soft-ball questions for the president also brought criticism from the viewers, saying that is why the public wanted to see the president holding a press conference. The interviewer demonstrated what a journalist should not do when interviewing a powerful figure: asking soft-ball questions so as not to make the interviewee feel uncomfortable.
One of the main reasons for Yoon moving the presidential office from the Blue House to Yongsan is to communicate with reporters more flexibly. However, since one MBC reporter questioned Yoon's remarks that MBC maliciously reported his hot mic scandal during his trip to New York in September 2022, he indefinitely suspended his daily chat with reporters. It has been almost a year and a half, and still, Yoon has no interest in resuming it.
Yoon thought it was not an ideal way to explain his policy to the people through the daily chat with reporters after he witnessed his remarks to questions in the daily chat with reporters covered all headlines and media reports. Considering the hot mic scandal and the timing of the suspension of the daily chat with reporters, however, his explanation rather demonstrates that he has no confidence in answering reporters' questions under any circumstances. In light of what he said during the presidential campaign and when he was president-elect, his decision to sit down with a certain media outlet whenever there is something he wants to say is incomprehensible. Also, as his inexperience in politics was shown through his impromptu remarks during his daily chat with reporters, there was no problem with the media coverage but his unprepared and unrefined responses.
South Koreans are not expecting Yoon to hold a press conference like Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, the top 2 liberal presidents who held a press conference more than any other presidents in history. It is not even comparable to the number of press conferences the U.S. presidents and Yoon held. However, he at least should make an effort to keep his word that he would communicate with reporters often, which was one of the reasons for his decision to move the presidential office suddenly. Avoiding meeting reporters is clearly not worth spending about U.S. $38 million, the estimated cost to move the presidential office to Yongsan.
Some may wonder why it is so important for the president to hold a press conference or at least talk to reporters often. Among many reasons, the president should talk to reporters as frequently as possible because it reflects the degree of democracy in his country, as press freedom is one of the core values that enhances freedom and democracy. According to the annual World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders last year, South Korea ranked 47th, falling by four spots. This figure can plummet if Yoon keeps his disfavor for meeting reporters.
In a bid to prove that South Korea is a middle-power country that has developed under democracy and press freedom, the South Korean president needs to show how passionate and supportive he is of interacting with reporters.
Mitch Shin is a chief correspondent for The Diplomat and a research fellow at the Institute for Peace & Diplomacy. Shin was a nonresident research fellow at the Institute for Security & Development Policy and Stockholm Korea Center and a nonresident Korea Foundation fellow at Pacific Forum.
President Yoon should meet more reporters
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19.02.2024
By Mitch Shin South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol had an exclusive interview with the Korean Broadcasting System, Korea's public broadcaster, earlier this month, skipping a press conference that most former South Korean presidents did every January.
Holding a press conference in January is a platform for the president to deliver his or her message to the people. More specifically, the president can introduce the government's policy and goals to the people. It is one of the customs former presidents followed as it elevates the level of transparency in politics and democracy.
However, Yoon's one-on-one interview with KBS showed his attitude toward the values his predecessors cared to keep. The presidential office's explanation that such an interview system is often selected by other countries is not persuasive, as the public wanted to see Yoon answering questions in a press conference. Also, considering his wife Kim Keon Hee's Dior bag scandal and his low approval ratings, Yoon should have met as many journalists as he could to explain his stance on the scandal and his plan to garner more public support.
Consequentially, his defense of his wife's........
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