[Opinion] Wavering Policy Promotion... Reflecting on the Backlash Against 'Syrup Coverage'

The ruling party seems to underestimate policy promotion. First, it appears to take the media as an ally by default. However, the media environment reflects the ideological conflicts in our society and tends to be hostile to the ruling party. On a news-blog big data analysis site, entering ‘Yoon Seok-yeol’ on July 17 showed that the volume of negative vocabulary (63.2%) overwhelmingly surpassed that of positive vocabulary (34.0%). On mobile platforms, public opinion often changes spontaneously. The public sentiment regarding government policies can easily turn negative.

President Yoon Seok-yeol’s visit to Ukraine was sudden and a significant event in terms of diplomacy and economy. However, the next day’s top news was the ‘Osong Underpass.’ The president’s approval rating dropped by 1 percentage point. The controversy over ‘Syrup Benefits’ reveals that the current promotional environment is precarious, tolerating no mistakes.

Twenty-eight percent of unemployment benefit recipients received more unemployment benefits than their after-tax wages while employed. The Vice Minister of Employment and Labor called it a "violation of labor market fairness." The ruling party explained that the Moon Jae-in administration raised the minimum unemployment benefit to the highest level among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, which led to the depletion of the employment insurance fund. They then advocated lowering the minimum unemployment benefit. The ruling party’s policy promotion should have been limited to such logical and statistical explanations. That would have gained momentum. Metaphors like ‘New Deal,’ ‘Desert Storm,’ and ‘Obamacare’ increase attention to policies. Conversely, when promoting policies like reducing unemployment benefits, dry and unembellished terms should be used to avoid emotional synchronization with the public.

The ruling party unnecessarily used the metaphor ‘Syrup Benefits,’ which instead provoked socially vulnerable unemployed people. Consequently, a frontline worker’s remark at a public hearing that "(unemployed) youth and women buy Chanel sunglasses they couldn’t afford with their own money" was even cited in the news. The opposition party, labor groups, and progressive media framed this as ‘trying to reduce unemployment benefits,’ ‘mocking unemployed youth and women,’ and a ‘heartless government and ruling party.’

Looking at the news flow on mobile, the substantive issue of ‘employment insurance fund depletion’ was overshadowed by the emotional reactions triggered by ‘Syrup Benefits’ and ‘Chanel sunglasses.’ The ruling party now has to worry about declining support among youth and women. Previously, the Ministry of Employment and Labor promoted the ‘flexible working hours’ policy but was completely defeated in the promotional battle when the opposition replaced that term with ‘69-hour workweek.’

Policy promotion can be powerful if used well. Ahead of the April 2020 general election, when COVID-19 was rampant, then-President Moon Jae-in introduced the ingenious promotional term “K-quarantine.” As a result, even though the COVID-19 situation did not improve much, the image of K-quarantine greatly helped the ruling Democratic Party’s victory in the general election.

Policy promotion does not cover up policy failures. The Democratic Party government experienced policy failures such as the anti-corruption campaign that ended in hypocrisy, real estate measures that raised Seoul housing prices, the power shortage caused by nuclear phase-out, and submissive diplomacy toward China. Instead of revising policies, they focused more on propaganda and agitation. Although sincere in promotion, this is why they lost power. Even as the opposition, the imbalance between policy and promotion remains. The Democratic Party must move away from overheated anti-government promotion that criticizes most government policies.

The ruling party must reflect on the promotional environment and fundamentals, including the media landscape. It should also contemplate the public’s negative reaction to ‘Syrup Benefits.’ Policies for ordinary people should be designed and promoted based on compassionate conservatism, enhancing the benefits for the common people.

Heo Man-seop, Professor at Gangneung-Wonju National University