‘He won’t budge an inch’: South Korea’s humbled yet defiant Yoon ploughs on despite electoral drubbing

In his first public remarks since a crushing defeat in last week’s parliamentary polls, Yoon said his cabinet should ‘humbly accept the people’s will’

But critics don’t expect much contrition from the first-ever Korean president left to contend with a hostile parliament for his entire five-year term

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South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol pictured on Monday during a meeting at the presidential office. Though he says he ‘humbly’ accepts the results of last week’s polls, critics remain sceptical of significant changes to his governance style. Photo: Yonhap/via dpa

Published: 4:00pm, 16 Apr 2024

South Korea’s embattled conservative president Yoon Suk-yeol has said he will “humbly” listen to the voice of the people – but hinted that he won’t change his policies – following a crushing defeat in the country’s parliamentary elections.

Critics remain sceptical of significant changes to Yoon’s governance style, citing his perceived obstinacy and binary “friend or foe” world view as making any compromise with opposition parties unlikely.

“We should all humbly accept the people’s will expressed through the elections,” Yoon said in a televised statement ahead of a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, his first public remarks on the polls since they were held on April 10.

He insisted his administration had done its best to “set the right direction” and implement “many good policies”, but said it had fallen short of making enough changes to satisfy expectations for better living standards. Off camera, Yoon apparently wrapped up the cabinet meeting with an apology for this failure and called for better government communication, a senior official of the presidential office later told journalists.

“Through the remarks, he made it clear that he won’t budge an inch from his stubborn leadership style and policies,” Jung Suk-koo, a former executive editor of the centre-left Hankyoreh daily, told This Week in Asia.

Yoon’s ruling People Power Party won 108 of the National Assembly’s 300 seats at the April 10 election, narrowly preventing opposition parties from obtaining the two-thirds majority required to seek his impeachment.