In his highly anticipated New Year address that was televised for 20 minutes via the presidential office in central Seoul’s Yongsan, President Yoon Suk Yeol delivered a message that prioritized the public and their livelihoods as well as vowed to carry out his reforms and root out what he calls “cartels” – meaning vested interests. Yet the address was, overall, more reserved instead of a gung-ho approach; the chief executive struck a more aspirational tone rather than one of determination and vision.

Mentioning the phrase “public livelihood” nine times during the address, Yoon vowed an “action-oriented, problem-solving” government. At the outset, he acknowledged the hardships that the public went through last year amid geopolitical uncertainties, high interest rates and higher consumer and oil prices. He said that he felt that he came up a bit short at times, and thanked the public for pulling through. In that sense, he managed to provide comfort, which is what the New Year’s presidential address is about.

T
he president then reiterated the achievements of his administration’s drive to reset foreign affairs and revive the economy as well as the current progress of his signature reforms: education, labor and pensions. Citing sound fiscal principles, normalizing the housing market and lessening the tax burden, the president said, “The New Year of 2024 will be a significant turning point for Korea’s new leap forward,” and “the warmth of economic recovery is felt by those who are vulnerable and socially disadvantaged.”

Such accolades may well be met with weary caution at best. In a survey of 1,000 salaried Korean workers last month by a civic group, asking what they wished for the New Year, more than 70 percent said “a pay raise.” That’s a reflection of the dire reality that the public faces against high prices and low growth.

A moment of palpable determination in his speech was when he pledged to continue to “break up syndicate cartels that are driven by their own interests and ideologies” and to genuinely carry o
ut reform of labor, education and pensions. His vision of tackling the dismal birthrate – while at the same time pursuing balanced regional development – came across as too vague for the moment.

On North Korea, the president said that he will work to complete a strengthened extended deterrence regime in the first half of 2024.

“In the first half of this year, we will complete the enhanced South Korea-U.S. extended deterrence system to fundamentally deter any North Korean nuclear and missile threats.”

Yet, he did not expand on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s comment that he will no longer consider South Korea as a counterpart for reconciliation and unification, saying that the Workers’ Party finds that unification with South Korea is not possible. The comments came at North Korea’s plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea held late last December.

This comment from the North contrasts with Pyongyang’s previous stance, which was one of generally being willing to engage with S
outh Korea’s liberal administrations while remaining hostile to conservative ones. Voters, no doubt, would like to know what this strident North Korean wording will mean for the Korean Peninsula in the New Year.

The third year in office for a Korean president serving a single five-year tenure is laden with promises and potential dangers. It is all the more so the case as the nation goes to the polls in April for a general election to pick their representatives for the National Assembly, which is currently dominated by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea.

As the president has stressed and called for improvements to the livelihoods of members of the general public, he should live up to his words to ensure his administration’s goals will inclusively benefit the public. It should not be limited to a public aligned to his conservative stance or ideology. Embracing differences, that is what requires hard work and it is easier said than done. But the effort must be made to reach out and engage with suppo
rters, opponents, doubters and fence-sitters alike. He can start by holding a press conference within this month, something he hasn’t done since August 2022.

Source: Yonhap News Agency