South Korea’s political sphere expressed divided opinions on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s public address delivered Thursday, with the main opposition party criticizing it as a speech “full of excuses” and the ruling party praising it as “honest.”
In the televised address and press conference marking the second half of his term, Yoon did not directly mention his wife, but offered an apology amid the public discontent due to the multiple controversies surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee. "I believe the role of the president is not to make excuses. All of this is due to my own shortcomings and lack of virtue," Yoon said. He stood up and bowed his head as he delivered the apology.
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea criticized Yoon's speech through a statement released in the afternoon.
"President Yoon has chosen first lady Kim Keon Hee after letting down the expectations of the people. The 140-minute-long public address with press conference was an apple without its core, as it was full of excuses, pride and self-righteousness," the statement read.
On Yoon labeling the bill mandating a special counsel probe into allegations against his wife -- pushed by the main opposition -- an attempt to stir up public anger for political gain, the Democratic Party denounced this rhetoric as Yoon's "betrayal of the people."
"To protect first lady Kim Keon Hee, President Yoon has rejected the special counsel investigation system. How could someone who has taken on the role of the special counsel himself say that it is wrong (under the current circumstances)? It is the president's betrayal of the people."
The Democratic Party recently floated a new version of the special counsel investigation bill that expands the scope of the allegations against the first lady. If passed in the upcoming plenary session of the Assembly, it could mark the third time that Yoon vetoes a version of the bill and the bill gets scrapped in a revote.
The new bill seeks to address newly-surfaced allegations including that first lady Kim sought the help of Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed political broker, to conduct public opinion surveys favoring Yoon ahead of the 2022 presidential election.
Other allegations include: the first lady's alleged interference in the ruling party's candidate nomination process ahead of the April 10 general election this year, her alleged involvement in a stock manipulation scheme and her receipt of a luxury Dior bag violating antigraft law.
On the other side of the political sphere, ruling party Floor Leader Rep. Choo Kyung-ho lauded Yoon's speech as a heartfelt apology.
"As the president who is responsible for handling state affairs, I believe that he spoke in an honest and humble manner on several issues related to state affairs," Choo said in a statement.
Choo expressed hope that Yoon's public address might serve as an opportunity to work towards bipartisanship.
"Through today's public address and press conference, the Assembly needs to stop the ongoing conflicts and start overseeing the imminent livelihood issues and take care of several pending agenda items. It is time to join forces together," said Choo.
