[100 Days of the Yoon Administration] President Yoon's 36 Doorstepping Events... 'Gukmin' Mentioned 47 Times

"Lowered Communication Barriers" Positive Evaluation
Also Points Out Backlash from Inappropriate Remarks

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Ki-min Lee and Joo-hee Kang] "People, we, law, government, president, economy..."

President Yoon Suk-yeol has been found to mention the word "people" the most, 47 times, during his trademark morning Q&A sessions (doorstepping) since taking office. This was followed by "we" (40 times), "law" (including legal, constitution, rule of law, judiciary, 39 times), "government" (31 times), "president" (26 times), and "economy" (24 times).

This is based on statistics from Asia Economy analyzing President Yoon's 36 morning Q&A sessions from May 11 to August 16.

The word "people" was frequently used by President Yoon when explaining economic crises and heavy rain situations. For example, regarding economic issues such as high inflation and high interest rates and their solutions, President Yoon said, "People are currently struggling to breathe (June 20)," urging bipartisan response.

In particular, "people" was often used as an expression to seek agreement on sensitive issues such as the repatriation of fishermen, the "검수완박" (prosecutorial reform), the establishment of the police bureau, and the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering subcontractor union strike. Regarding the repatriation of fishermen issue under the Moon Jae-in administration, he said, "Originally, people have raised many concerns about this for some time (June 21)." Also, about the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering subcontractor union strike, he mentioned, "I think both the people and the government have waited long enough (July 19)."

Regarding opposition to the police bureau and the nationwide chiefs' meeting, he emphasized, "Like all the people, I also have deep concerns about this collective action by the heads of police stations (July 26)."

The word "people" also appeared in questions about approval ratings. When asked about falling approval ratings, President Yoon said, "What I do is for the people, so I only think about the people and must work hard with that mindset (July 4)." However, when his approval rating dropped to the 20% range, upon returning from vacation on the 8th, he said, "The driving force of state affairs comes from the people. I will re-examine and carefully look into all the people's issues."

Expressions related to law, legal matters, constitution, and rule of law were also frequent. The word "government" was mainly mentioned when emphasizing revisions to enforcement ordinances and personnel authority, while "economy" was mostly used in questions about the complex economic crisis involving high exchange rates, high interest rates, and high inflation and their solutions.

Regarding the briefings by month, June had the most with 13 sessions, followed by July with 12, May with 8, and August with 3. While there are positive evaluations that the threshold for communication between the president and the people has been lowered, there are also negative assessments that some remarks were out of touch with public sentiment, causing backlash.

President Yoon became a target of criticism whenever he said things like, "It's my first time being president (June 15, controversy over Mrs. Kim Geon-hee accompanying acquaintances to Bongha Village)" or "Have you ever seen such an excellent minister appointed by the previous administration? (July 5, controversy over poor ministerial appointments)."

President Yoon has initiated changes in the format of doorstepping. Recently, he has started delivering prepared remarks to introduce topics before taking questions. This is interpreted as an effort to draw attention and refine his messages.