Presidential Office: "Prime Minister and Others Attended Sewol Ferry Events at 3 Locations... Position Fully Conveyed"

9th Anniversary of Sewol Ferry Disaster: Response on Yoon's Message
Regarding Mrs. Kim's Public Activities, "Requests to Attend Spring Events Increasing"

The Presidential Office stated on the 16th that high-ranking government officials attended the 9th anniversary event of the Sewol ferry disaster, adding, "We believe we have sufficiently conveyed our government's position."

A key official from the Presidential Office responded this way when a reporter met him at the Yongsan Presidential Office in the afternoon and asked, "Is there no message from President Yoon Seok-yeol on the 9th anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster?"

He explained, "There were events related to Sewol at three locations today. The Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs, and the Director-General of the Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters (2nd Vice Minister) of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety attended the event in Sejong City," adding, "The Minister of Oceans and Fisheries and the Deputy Minister of Education attended the event in Ansan City, and the Acting Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety attended the event in Incheon."

When asked, "First Lady Kim Geon-hee, wife of President Yoon, has shown an active schedule with 11 public events this month. What are the Presidential Office's plans regarding her role and activities going forward?" he said, "There are many requests for President Yoon to visit regions and attend events, but it is difficult for him to attend many events while overseeing state affairs," adding, "Local areas and event organizers say that if the President cannot come, they would like the First Lady to attend instead."

He continued, "The First Lady attends events where she can, showing interest in accompanying the vulnerable, culture, climate change and environment, and animal protection," and added, "As spring comes, requests for event attendance have increased compared to winter, so I think there is an unavoidable increase in her activities."

Regarding President Yoon's state visit schedule to the United States, he said, "In a summit, the agenda and schedule are coordinated until the very end."

When asked, "Amid public opinion polls showing the approval rating for state administration dropping to the 20% range, diplomacy was cited as the weakest area. Following Japanese diplomacy, there are criticisms that the stance on the wiretapping issue is too passive, and there seems to be significant public doubt due to insufficient explanations. What is the Presidential Office's position and plan?" the official replied, "We provided an explanation last Friday," and refrained from further comment, saying, "There has been no particular change in our position within a day."

According to a public opinion poll conducted by Gallup Korea from the 11th to the 13th and announced on the 14th (with a margin of error of 95%, confidence level ±3.1 percentage points; conducted via 95% mobile and 5% landline telephone interviews; response rate 8.2%. For detailed information, refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website), President Yoon's approval rating for state administration recorded 27%, down 4 percentage points from the previous week.

Earlier, a Presidential Office official stated at a briefing on the 14th, "We always humbly consider public sentiment," and added, "Sometimes we refer to opinion polls, and sometimes we do not."