President Yoon Returns from Overseas Trip and Attends Park Chung-hee Memorial Ceremony
Third Meeting Since Political Career Change
Expected to Serve as a Catalyst for Conservative Unity
From a bitter relationship as 'investigating prosecutor and suspect' to becoming a symbol of conservative unity. President Yoon Seok-yeol, returning from a Middle East tour, met with former President Park Geun-hye on the 26th to rally conservative forces.
Immediately after returning to the country, President Yoon attended the 44th memorial service for former President Park Chung-hee held at the Seoul National Cemetery, showing special respect to former Presidents Park Chung-hee and Park Geun-hye, who are 'symbols of conservatism.'
The connection between President Yoon and former President Park dates back to the launch of the Park Geun-hye administration in 2013. At that time, President Yoon was the head of the special investigation team for the National Intelligence Service's public opinion manipulation case. This was an investigation into whether the National Intelligence Service and others had systematically manipulated comments to secure Park's victory during the previous Lee Myung-bak administration. President Yoon, who investigated this Achilles' heel case of the new government, eventually exposed pressure on the investigation during a National Assembly audit and declared, "I do not serve people," after which he was sidelined to the periphery of the prosecution.
The turning point that revived President Yoon was former President Park. During the 2016 'Choi Soon-sil political scandal,' President Yoon was appointed as the head of the special prosecutor's investigation team, conducting investigations against former President Park, arresting her close aides, and securing grounds for impeachment. While serving as the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office during the Moon Jae-in administration, he applied the legal principle of economic community to former President Park, who was dismissed by the Constitutional Court, leading to her receiving a 22-year prison sentence from the court.
However, the situation changed when President Yoon, who led the prosecution as the vanguard of the Moon administration's purge of deep-rooted evils, became the presidential candidate of the conservative forces. In particular, the bitter relationship with former President Park became a major obstacle in establishing relations with the conservative base, which is President Yoon's core support group.
Since then, President Yoon has shown efforts to reconcile with former President Park. During his presidential campaign, when news of Park's pardon was announced, he expressed regret, saying, "I think she should have been released a little earlier." During his transition period on April 12 last year, he visited Park's residence and met with her, and they briefly met again at the inauguration ceremony. Later, when Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, visited Park's residence, President Yoon also conveyed his wish to 'meet her once.'
Many analyses suggest that President Yoon's sincere respect for former President Park reflects consideration of public sentiment in Daegu and Gyeongbuk (TK). Especially, recent polls have shown signs of instability in TK. According to a Gallup survey conducted from the 17th to 19th among 1,000 adult men and women (detailed poll results can be found on the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website), President Yoon's positive evaluation of his state affairs management was 45%, lower than the negative evaluation of 48%.
With next year's general election approaching, there are also views that a meeting between President Yoon and former President Park is necessary for the unity and consolidation of the conservative camp. Professor Shin Yul of Myongji University's Department of Political Science and Diplomacy said, "If former President Park represents 'symbolism,' President Yoon represents 'influence.' If former President Park meets President Yoon and sends a responsive message, it would be a convergence of influence and symbolism," adding, "The synergy would be considerable."
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