[Insight & Opinion] Special Prosecutor-Style Governance Must End Now

Reflecting on President Yoon's Autocratic Governance
Like a Prosecutor Breaking Up a Cartel

Following a crushing defeat in the general election, the Yoon Seok-yeol administration has entered a difficult test, having to govern under a political structure of a “minority ruling party and majority opposition” for the first time in constitutional history during its five-year term. In the 22nd National Assembly, the number of opposition party lawmakers against President Yoon ranges from a minimum of 188 to a maximum of 192 seats. Therefore, for the remaining three years of the presidential term, the administration faces a “plant government” scenario where it has barely escaped concerns of constitutional amendments and impeachment, and cannot pass a single bill proactively without opposition party cooperation.

Regarding the election results, President Yoon issued a statement saying, “I will humbly accept the will of the people expressed in the general election and reform the administration.” However, does President Yoon truly understand what the people’s will is? In fact, the public essentially cast a midterm evaluation vote for the president through the parliamentary election. On April 1, in a national address, President Yoon mentioned “the people” 67 times, appealing for sincerity in medical reform, yet the election results show that the people have turned their backs on him.

President Yoon needs deep reflection on why the people who once enthusiastically supported former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and propelled him to the presidency two years ago have now turned away in just two years. The reason can be summed up as the special prosecutor-style governance approach. A special prosecutor must focus solely on the investigative purpose assigned without wavering. However, governance is on a different level. It involves intertwined interests among the people, and the correct answers may differ between the present and the future. Therefore, the process of dialogue and compromise to reach consensus is absolutely crucial.

Nonetheless, President Yoon has operated the government as if tasked with dismantling an interest cartel like a special prosecutor. If dismantling the progressive cartel had the support of the majority of the people, would the progressive coalition holding nearly 190 seats have dominated the National Assembly in the general election? How has the scientific community innovated after the 15% cut in research and development (R&D) budgets aimed at breaking up the science and technology cartel? Without any explanation of the innovation outcomes to the public, promising to maximize next year’s science and technology budget to appease backlash?can the wounded scientific community accept this? Medical reform is widely known as a difficult issue that has failed to be resolved despite multiple attempts. Yet, pushing it through by even dismissing three vice ministers of the Ministry of Health and Welfare ahead of the general election has only led the reform deeper into a maze rather than success.

Despite the devastating election defeat, the best first step for President Yoon to regain leadership is to promptly show a humble acceptance of the people’s will, as he himself mentioned. The will revealed through the general election is, in short, a call for the president to reflect on his autocratic governance. Despite being a “plant government,” the president has not only failed to govern through cooperation and inclusion but has also ignored Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, for the past two years.

Meanwhile, immediately after the election, Lee expressed his intention to actively take the lead in resolving livelihood issues. If President Yoon “humbly accepts the will of the people,” meeting with Lee to discuss livelihood issues and show a changed attitude by requesting cooperation would be the best measure to demonstrate to the public.

The remaining three years of President Yoon’s term, coinciding with the 22nd National Assembly, mark a critical transitional period for the nation entering low growth and aging population challenges. As urgent national tasks such as pension, education, and labor reforms demand resolution, if the government and the National Assembly remain deadlocked and waste time, the people will sternly hold both ruling and opposition parties historically accountable.

Kim Dong-won, Former Visiting Professor at Korea University