Yin Xiyue still has four years in power,
But people are "somewhat worried" about the days ahead.
Author: Yu Bing
On May 10, 2023, Yoon Seok-hyeol appeared as usual at the presidential palace in Yongsan, Seoul. This day is the first anniversary of his coming to power.
Usually, the President of South Korea will give speeches and hold related events on the first anniversary of his administration. But this time, the South Korean presidential office said that it would not hold a separate press conference on that day.
Yoon Seok-yue
Yoon Seok-yue, who has always liked to make high-profile appearances in public, chose to keep a low profile on this special day, perhaps with hidden feelings.
According to the poll released by pollster Gallup Korea on May 5, Yoon Seok-hyeong's approval rating was 33 percent and his negative rating was 57 percent. His predecessor, Mr. Moon, had a 78 percent approval rating on his first anniversary in power, more than double that of Mr. Yoon.
Some analysts say that South Korean presidents usually do not have a greater opposition rate than support until the late stage of their administration, and Yoon Seok-yue has been in power for less than a year, which is somewhat unusual, and the reasons are worth considering.
Diplomacy makes people "most dissatisfied"
Yin Xiyue once said: "On the occasion of the anniversary of your inauguration, you must not boast about what you have done. But he reviewed his work at the State Council on May 9.
Yoon said the biggest change in the past year was South Korea's diplomacy and security, "South Korea is increasingly becoming the center of world order," and recalled what he sees as the results: "sales diplomacy," improving South Korea-Japan relations, strengthening the ROK-U.S. alliance, South Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation, and so on.
For Yoon Seok-yue's statement, the South Korean government and opposition gave a completely different evaluation. The ruling party believes that the warming up of the South Korea-US alliance and South Korea-Japan diplomacy is the "greatest achievement" of Yoon's government. The opposition party criticized South Korea's diplomatic imbalance as damaging national interests.
Yoon Seok-yue attended the press conference.
South Koreans do not speak highly of Yoon's diplomatic work. In the aforementioned polls, the most dissatisfied with their governance was diplomacy, followed by the economy, people's livelihood, prices, etc.
The Global People reporter interviewed several South Koreans, and most of them expressed "dissatisfaction" with Yoon Seok-yue's ruling this year.
South Korean citizen Lee Hwan told reporters: "As president, Yoon Seok-yue lacks leadership. He does not listen to the voices of the people, nor does he consider the interests of the people and the interests of the country as a whole. He has said that the government must solve problems such as labor, education, and pension (pension) reform, but these problems have not been dealt with until now. So, his approval rating has been hovering around 30 percent."
Lu Chao, director of the Institute of American and East Asian Studies at Liaoning University, told Global People that Yin Xiyue's political achievements, especially diplomatic performance, were lackluster in the year of his administration.
Yoon Seok-yue played the "pro-US card" during the election, and after taking office, he repeatedly emphasized strengthening the ROK-US military alliance.
On May 21, 2022, the 11th day of Yoon Seok-yue's presidency, US President Joe Biden visited the South Korean presidential palace to meet with Yoon Seok-yue.
The South Korean president's office made a high-profile announcement that the meeting between the two broke the shortest meeting between the South Korean president and the president of the United States after taking office and was a major breakthrough in exchanges between the two countries. Since then, Yoon Seok-yue has had 6 public meetings with Biden.
While giving Yoon Seok-yue "face", the United States is also pressing South Korea to "bow" to Japan, and it seems that it has also achieved "results".
For example, South Korea's forcibly conscripted laborers and comfort women during World War II have been demanding apologies and compensation from the Japanese government for years, but Yoon's government has proposed to use a third party to compensate. Mr. Yoon said he did not approve of having the Japanese government "kneel for what happened 100 years ago." After Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited South Korea, Yoon Seok-yue's government also proposed a compromise plan on the discharge of nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Yoon Seok-yue (left) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hold a summit meeting between South Korea and Japan at the Prime Minister's official residence in Tokyo on March 16, 2023.
Many South Koreans believe that Yoon did not show "the attitude that a South Korean president should have" when facing Japan, and that the two sides did not discuss these issues on an equal footing.
South Korean public opinion criticized Yoon Seok-hyeol for standing on the "test bench of a new Cold War", saying that he "made concessions in many ways that the country could not afford."
In the face of criticism, the South Korean president's office defended Yoon Seok-hyeol as follows: "Thanks to Yoon's decision on the issue of compensation for labor victims of World War II, the South Korean side grasped the dominance in South Korea-Japan relations, and then leveraged the structure of South Korea-US relations to lead to the publication of the Washington Declaration." ”
The United States is "very satisfied" with Yin Xiyue's performance.
White House National Security Advisor Sullivan said: "Yoon Seok-yue's determination and courage in improving South Korea-Japan relations is also an issue that President Biden has been very concerned about for a long time. Biden said to Yoon: "Thank you again for your political courage and personal commitment to Japanese diplomacy." ”
Lu Chao analyzed that although the United States is a military alliance with Japan and South Korea, in the eyes of the United States, Japan seems to be "superior to South Korea." South Korea's diplomatic attitude towards Japan was coerced by the United States to comply with its demands.
South Korea joined a number of US-led so-called alliances, the scale of ROK-US joint military exercises gradually expanded, and the United States took the opportunity to deploy strategic bombers, aircraft carriers, and nuclear submarines to China's doorstep, which adversely affected China's security environment.
In addition, in response to Yin Xiyue's Taiwan-related remarks in an interview with Reuters, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin responded that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. The Taiwan issue is purely China's internal affair and the core of China's core interests, and resolving the Taiwan issue is Chinese its own business. It is hoped that the ROK side will earnestly abide by the spirit of the Sino-ROK Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, abide by the one-China principle, and prudently handle the Taiwan issue.
South Korean companies 'hurt'
"Korea No. 1 salesman" is what Yoon Seok-yue calls himself. But how has this "salesman" contributed to promoting South Korea's economic development?
A South Korean citizen who has been engaged in business with China for many years told reporters that China and South Korea are very close, and Yoon Seok-yue's attitude towards China has not only affected the relations between the two countries, but also affected the South Korean economy. The current relationship between China and South Korea is not what the South Korean people want.
He said that after Yoon Seok-yue came to power, although there were many positive comments on him in the media, there were often protests in front of Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul and the Yongsan Presidential Palace, and there have been many large-scale protests this year.
On the morning of May 10, 2023, on the first anniversary of Yoon Seok-yue's reign, a social group held a press conference in front of the Yongsan presidential palace to denounce Yoon's government.
Lu Chao said that China is South Korea's largest trading partner. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, many South Korean presidents have adopted a pragmatic and friendly attitude towards China. At present, China and South Korea are strategic cooperative partners, and South Korea is also a partner of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Now, despite this friendly relationship, the South Korean side has succumbed to the United States and accepted the requirements of the US Inflation Reduction Act and the Chip and Science Act, putting a shackle on South Korean companies.
For example, the United States asked the South Korean government to urge its domestic chip manufacturers to ban U.S. chip maker Micron from selling in China and not allow South Korean companies to fill the market gap left by Micron; The U.S. government prevents South Korean semiconductor high-tech companies such as Samsung and SK from selling chips to China, but is not responsible for underwriting the products of these companies, and if these companies really act according to the command of the United States, it will be a "catastrophic blow" to the South Korean economy.
In the face of the unreasonable and disrespectful demands of the United States, the South Korean side did not dare to say "no", and actively cooperated with the United States in trying to contain China's foreign policy, and as a result, South Korean companies were harmed.
According to the latest data from South Korea's Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy, South Korea's trade balance in April this year once again showed a deficit. This is the 14th consecutive month that South Korea has run a trade deficit, its longest record in 26 years since May 1997.
·On May 20, 2022, Yoon Seok-yue (center) and US President Joe Biden (left) visited a Samsung Group factory together accompanied by Samsung Group Chairman Lee Jae-yong.
In order to make up for the losses, Yoon Seok-yue actively carried out "economic diplomacy" with the United States, and visited the United States with 122 Korean business magnates, including Samsung Group Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Jung Eui-sun, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and other core figures of major Korean consortiums.
After several rounds of business talks, the South Korean presidential office immediately announced that Yoon Seok-yue's visit to the United States was fruitful, "in just two days in the United States, it brought in 4.4 billion US dollars (about 30.4 billion yuan) of investment for South Korea" and signed 50 memorandums of understanding on cooperation with the United States.
However, Yin Xiyue's trip also brought tens of billions of dollars in investment projects to the United States. How to calculate this account, the Korean business community naturally knows.
After returning from the visit to the United States, Yin Xiyue told the media: "As long as China does not take hostile actions against us, the two sides abide by the contract, remain predictable and respect each other, and can solve economic problems with the Chinese side." In this regard, Lu Chao shook his head and sighed: Who "lacks the minimum respect" for his important trading partners?
Is there a "problem with the competence" of the diplomatic team?
The president is the most political character. As a prosecutor-turned-president of South Korea, Yoon Seok-yue does not have the upper hand in eloquence compared to his predecessors.
On April 27, Yoon delivered a 44-minute speech in English to the U.S. Congress. According to the South Korean presidential office, Yoon is the fifth South Korean president to speak in English. He attached great importance to the speech, pushed off many public events, carefully reviewed the content of the speech, and practiced the speech for many days until late into the night.
On the day of his speech, Yoon Seok-yue talked about the US-ROK alliance in the late 19th century, the ROK-US alliance in the 20th century, the current so-called "Indo-Pacific era" as partners, and the upgrading of the alliance in the future.
On April 27, 2023, Yoon Seok-yue (front) delivered a speech at the U.S. Congress.
Speaking of the Battle of Changjin Lake in the winter of 1950, Yoon praised the U.S. Marine Division for "miraculously breaking through the siege of 120,000 Chinese troops."
The Battle of Changjin Lake is a classic battle example in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. The Chinese volunteers met the American army on a narrow road and won the victory after a bloody battle.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said in response to Yin Xiyue's relevant remarks: According to Chinese war history, a total of 36,000 enemies were annihilated in this battle, including 24,000 US troops, including an entire regiment of US troops, and Lieutenant General Walker, commander of the US Eighth Army, also turned over and died in the chaos. Then-U.S. Secretary of State Acheson called it "the longest defeat in American history."
Although Yoon Seok-yue tried his best to compliment the defeat of the US military, in private, he also had times when he "blurted out".
On September 21, 2022, he attended a meeting in the United States chaired by Biden. After the meeting, he told South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and National Security Director Kim Sung-han: "What if those little cubs in Congress don't recognize it, and President Biden also feels faceless?" ”
Yin Xiyue was captured by the media at that time of "speaking foul language".
Unexpectedly, this picture was photographed by the Korean media. The video footage quickly spread on the Internet, and Korean media reported that Yoon Seok-yue "insulted the US Congress", calling it a "diplomatic tragedy" and "foul diplomacy".
Seeing the situation expand, the South Korean presidential secretary argued that what Yoon Seok-yue was referring to at the time was "not the US Congress, but the South Korean Congress, and there was no mention of Biden." This remark drew new anger: Should the South Korean parliament be scolded?
Lu Chao said that this incident shows that Yin Xiyue's diplomatic team may have problems. In the past, the South Korean government has followed a balanced diplomatic line between China and the United States, but Yoon's government does not seem to pay attention to this balance. Lacking political experience, he used a "patchwork diplomatic team" to upset the relative balance.
It is not only Yin Xiyue's diplomatic team that is questioned. There is also a lot of discussion in South Korea about his internal affairs.
For example, in the Halloween stampede in Itaewon, his handling was criticized for not being timely and the punishment of those responsible was not fair enough. In addition, he used a lot of manpower and material resources to move the presidential palace from the Blue House to Yongsan, and the reason for this move was questioned.
It was revealed that a feng shui master intervened in the selection of the site of the presidential palace. This person, named "Tiansuo", is a well-known "mage" in South Korea, and has been rumored to be close to Yoon Seok-yue and his family many times. Although there are many religious believers in South Korea, the governance of political leaders is not tolerated if it is influenced by religious figures.
Yongsan Presidential Palace
Next year, South Korea will hold parliamentary elections. If the opposition party continues to increase its seats in Congress, Yoon Seok-yue's future life will be even more difficult. Lu Chao said that the ruling party has only a minority of seats in the parliament, and Yoon Seok-yue is destined to become a "lame president", some government decisions will be rejected by the parliament, and governance will be restricted by the parliament.
Some South Koreans told the Global People reporter that Yoon Seok-yue still has four years in power, and they are "a little worried" about the coming days, hoping that South Korea's economy will improve.
Director system: Lv Hong
Producer: Zhang Jiankui
Editor-in-chief: Xu Chenjing
Editor: Ling Yun
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