President Yoon Suk-yeol said Friday the economic situation is too grave to be talking about the election victory of his party.
The ruling People Power Party won 12 of the 17 key mayoral and gubernatorial races in Wednesday's local elections, strengthening Yoon's mandate less than a month after he took office on May 10.
"Don't you feel the windows shaking and the branches swaying in the lawn?" Yoon told reporters as he arrived for work at the presidential office when asked to comment on assessments that his administration received a boost from the elections.
"Our lawn currently lies in the path of the typhoon that includes our economic crisis. It's not the time to be talking about a political party's political victory," he said, without elaborating further.
It was the second time Yoon commented on Wednesday's elections. On Thursday, he issued a statement thanking the people for helping the elections run smoothly and vowing to focus all efforts on reviving the economy.
Government data released Friday showed consumer prices jumped 5.4 percent in May from a year earlier, the steepest on-year increase since August 2008, amid high energy and food costs driven by Russia's war in Ukraine and the post-pandemic economic recovery.
When asked if he plans to meet the newly elected mayors and governors soon, Yoon said such a meeting would be more meaningful after they have looked into their respective administrative and financial issues.
On a possible meeting with the leadership of the main opposition Democratic Party, he simply said, "There can be no partisanship in navigating difficulties." (Yonhap)
