Yoon vows to reform state affairs after election defeat

Apr 12, 2024, 10:36 am

		0
President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a meeting held at the presidential office in Seoul on April 8, 2024./ Source: Yonhap News

AsiaToday reporter Hong Sun-mi

President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Thursday that he will humbly accept the people’s will expressed in Wednesday’s general elections and will strive to reform the administration and stabilize the economy and enhance people’s livelihoods.

Presidential Chief of Staff Lee Kwan-sup said in a press briefing that Yoon made the remarks.

The president’s first reaction to the crushing defeat in the general election was disclosed at 10:40 a.m. on the same day. Yoon reportedly discussed with his aides the cause of the defeat and ways to fix the situation.

A reform of state affairs would first involve an overhaul of Yoon’s top aides. In fact, all senior staff, including presidential chief of staff Lee Kwan-sup, presidential director of national policy Sung Tae-yoon and presidential secretary for political affairs Han O-sub expressed their intent to resign.

“Except for the Office of National Security, all presidential senior secretaries, including the chief of staff and the director of national policy, offered to resign,” a senior official at the presidential office said.

Han Dong-hoon, the ruling People Power Party’s leader and head of the party’s election campaign, held a press conference and expressed his intention to resign. “I apologize to people on behalf of our party, which fell short of receiving people’s support,” Han told reporters in Seoul.

The leadership of the ruling party, the government, and the presidential office stepped down to take responsibility for the election results. Asked about the presidential office’s interpretation of the election results, a senior official said, “The president thought that whatever the outcome was, even before the election, it was the public’s assessment of the president’s performance in state affairs.” The official hinted at he possibility of a change in the way state affairs are conducted.

#Yoon Suk-yeol #general elections #reform