Yoon appoints new chief of staff to boost communication with public

Apr 23, 2024, 10:19 am

		0
President Yoon Suk-yeol introduces his new chief of staff Chung Jin-suk during a press briefing at the presidential office in Seoul on April 22, 2024./ Source: Yonhap News

AsiaToday reporter Hong Sun-mi

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday appointed five-term lawmaker Chung Jin-suk of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) as his new chief of staff, and former two-term lawmaker Hong Chul-ho as his senior secretary for political affairs.

The president personally introduced Chung and Hong for the appointment during two briefings, showing his willingness to actively engage in communication with the public.

Yoon’s live announcement of the appointment comes 12 days after the resignation of his presidential aides, including Lee Kwan-sup and Han Oh-seop following the ruling party’s crushing defeat in the April 10 general elections, in which the PPP secured only 108 of the 300-member Assembly.

Yoon met and fielded questions from reporters twice a day in a rare appearance before the press, apparently in response to criticism urging the president to adjust his approach to communicating with the public.

During the two briefings, Yoon took questions from reporters, the first time he did so since November 2022, when he engaged in an impromptu Q&A session with journalists on his way to the office.

Last Friday, Yoon even called Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), to reach out first to say, “Let’s meet in Yongsan.”

Yoon’s decision to make such efforts to communicate with the public and the opposition parties comes as he is now facing another opposition-dominated parliament for the remaining three years of his term, making it impossible to carry out state affairs without dialogue with the opposition bloc.

Yoon also stressed that he will focus on persuading and communicating not only with the ruling party but also with the opposition party.

#Yoon Suk-yeol #appointment #chief of staff