Yoon's Four Overseas Trips All Controversial... Achievements Overshadowed
About 40 Trillion Won Economic Gains in This Trip
Approval Rating Rises Only 1%... Both Positive and Negative Factors Are 'Diplomacy'
[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] As President Yoon Seok-yeol returns home after his tours of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Switzerland, the aftermath of his remarks on Iran and the dismissal of former lawmaker Na Kyung-won continue to stir controversy.
According to political circles on the 22nd, all four of President Yoon’s tours since his inauguration have been accompanied by various controversies, somewhat overshadowing their achievements. The presidential office maintains its stance regarding Yoon’s statement during his visit to the Ark Unit dispatched to the UAE, saying, "The enemy of the UAE, the most threatening country, is Iran; our main adversary is North Korea," clarifying that "this remark is unrelated to the relationship between Korea and Iran. It seems there was a misunderstanding on Iran’s part."
"UAE Enemy is Iran" Escalation of Korea-Iran Diplomatic Conflict
During his visit to the UAE, President Yoon visited the Ark Unit on the 15th (local time) and encouraged the troops, stating, "This is your homeland. The security of the UAE, our brotherly nation, is our security," emphasizing, "The enemy of the UAE, the most threatening country, is Iran, and our enemy is North Korea," and adding, "We and the UAE share very similar positions."
Following President Yoon’s remarks, the Iranian government protested, demanding an official stance from the Korean government. Three days after Yoon’s comments, the Iranian government summoned Yoon Kang-hyun, the Korean ambassador to Iran, as a form of protest. At this meeting, Iran reportedly intensified its criticism by mentioning Korea’s freezing of $7 billion (approximately 8.61 trillion KRW) in Iranian funds and violations of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
On the morning of the 19th, Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong summoned Saeed Badamchi Shabestari, the Iranian ambassador to Korea. Despite Korea’s active explanations from the Foreign Ministry, a chill still lingers between the two countries.
Former Lawmaker Na Kyung-won Announces Candidacy... Amidst Turmoil in the Ruling Party
The aftermath of former lawmaker Na Kyung-won’s dismissal continues. President Yoon dismissed Na Kyung-won from her positions as Vice Chair of the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee and Climate Human Rights Ambassador on the 13th, just before his tour, due to her mentioning a 'Hungarian-style' birth promotion policy without consulting the presidential office or government.
However, Na posted on Facebook, stating, "I believe the dismissal was not the president’s true intention," and Kim Dae-gi, Chief of Staff to the President, unusually sent a notice to the presidential press corps, rebutting that "the dismissal was a decision based on an accurate understanding of the facts by the president."
In particular, Kim directly criticized, saying, "The president, who spares no time in economic diplomacy activities for national interests, knows well what he thinks about Na’s conduct so far."
Ruling party first-term lawmakers collectively reacted against Na’s post, and senior party figures continue to criticize her. Na plans to announce her candidacy for party leader after President Yoon’s return. If Na proceeds with her candidacy, both the People Power Party and the presidential office are likely to be swept into a fierce party leadership contest. Park Jong-hee, a former lawmaker supporting Na, said in an interview with MBC Radio’s ‘Kim Jong-bae’s Focus’ the day before that Na remains "fired up with determination," adding, "She will quietly spend the Lunar New Year holiday and hold a launching ceremony at a 'symbolic conservative location' after the president returns and the holiday ends."
Yoon’s Four Tours All Surrounded by Controversy
Controversies have continuously arisen before and after President Yoon’s four tours. During his first tour in June last year, attending the NATO summit in Spain, controversy erupted when a civilian boarded the presidential aircraft, ‘Air Force One.’ The presidential office explained that Shin, the wife of Personnel Secretary Lee Won-mo, accompanied the president as an unpaid attendant, but opposition parties criticized whether she qualified as an attendant.
During his September tour to the UK, US, and Canada to attend the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth and the UN General Assembly, President Yoon’s remarks also sparked controversy. At the Global Fund replenishment conference in New York, a camera caught Yoon telling Foreign Minister Park Jin, "If those in the National Assembly don’t approve, won’t it be embarrassing for 'OOO'..." Some media outlets reported ‘OOO’ as US President Joe Biden, but the presidential office denied, saying it was ‘Nalli-myeon.’ The Democratic Party criticized this as a major diplomatic blunder, accusing Yoon of disparaging the US Congress.
During the Southeast Asia tour in November last year, Yoon refused to board MBC’s aircraft No. 1, citing problematic reports related to his September remarks, drawing criticism from political and media organizations. The presidential office stated that the refusal was an unavoidable measure to prevent "distortion and biased broadcasting" by MBC, which had not taken any corrective action regarding subtitle manipulation, attempts to provoke conflicts with allied countries, undisclosed dubbing, and biased reporting during Yoon’s US tour.
As with previous tours, controversies arose during this recent tour, overshadowing President Yoon’s self-proclaimed role as "Korea’s No. 1 salesperson," despite securing $30 billion (approximately 37 trillion KRW) in investments in the UAE and $800 million (approximately 1 trillion KRW) in Switzerland.
For example, a Gallup Korea survey conducted from the 17th to 19th targeting 1,000 men and women aged 18 and over nationwide (with a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, 95% mobile and 5% landline telephone interviews, and an 8.6% response rate; detailed information is available on the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website) showed that in the third week of January, 36% of respondents evaluated President Yoon’s job performance positively, while 55% evaluated it negatively. Compared to the previous survey in the second week of January (10th?12th), positive evaluations rose by 1 percentage point, and negative evaluations fell by 2 percentage points. ‘Diplomacy’ was cited as the reason for both positive (17%) and negative (15%) evaluations.
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