Recently, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has once again been pushed to the forefront of public opinion. His mother-in-law, Choi Eun-soon, was sentenced to one year in prison for forging bank deposit certificates and violating the real-name registration real estate law during the land purchase process. The incident caused a huge repercussion in the South Korean media and made front-page news. Regarding the verdict, Yoon Suk-yeol issued a brief response through the president's office: "It is not appropriate to comment on the verdict."
Some South Koreans said that Yoon Suk-yeol's response was too cold and did not seem to care about the emotions of his wife, Kim Keon-hee. However, in history, Jin Jianxi has also been concerned by the public due to many controversies. From fictitious award-winning facts, work experience to paper plagiarism, her many negative news stories not only hurt her image, but also brought a lot of pressure to Yoon Suk-yeol. Even when Yoon Suk-yeol was running for president, Kim Keon-hee became a hot topic again on suspicion of bribing journalists.
The love story of Yoon Suk-yeol and Kim Keon-hee was once a good story in the eyes of the public. Kim Jianxi, born in 1972, is 12 years younger than Yoon Suk-yeol. After completing her master's degree in art education and design, she married Yoon Suk-yeol in 2012. The love between the two, despite the age gap, has always been blessed by the public. But as time passed, Kim Jianxi became the focus of negative news many times, which also put Yoon Suk-yeol in a difficult situation and had to face huge pressure from public opinion.
Despite family strife, Yoon Suk-yeol's performance on the international stage is still under scrutiny. He has actively embraced proximity to the United States and demonstrated a tough stance on China in order to cater to American foreign policy. Not long ago, he visited the U.S. strategic nuclear submarine moored in the port of Pusan, and proudly said that he was the first leader of a U.S. ally to visit the submarine. In response, some Chinese netizens ridiculed its exaggerated self-promotion.
However, the choice of diplomatic strategy did not bring Yoon Suk-yeol widespread support at home. According to the latest polls, Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating has fallen to 32%, and the negative evaluation is as high as 57%. South Koreans cited Yoon's "four sins": a mistake in diplomatic strategy, an inappropriate attitude towards the Fukushima nuclear sewage discharge, excessive arbitrariness, and ineffective economic and livelihood policies.
At the same time, some neighboring media outlets have shown keen interest in Yoon's declining approval ratings. Japanese media believe that Yoon Suk-yeol's "pro-Japanese" strategy may be an important reason for the decline in his domestic approval rating. However, there is clearly a certain irony to this statement.
Overall, Yoon's current challenges are quite severe. How to rebuild his image and regain the support of the South Korean people will be an important task for him. In this context, external conflicts and provocations may not be a wise choice, and more attention should be paid to domestic stability and development.