[Editorial] Drastic changes in order

The first half of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s five-year term has largely been disappointing. Instead of pushing for key policy initiatives, Yoon has been dragged down by a host of controversies and challenges amid plunging approval ratings.

More worrisome is that Yoon shows no sign of making fundamental changes in his stances on controversial issues, including the soaring public criticism over first lady Kim Keon Hee.

Yoon did apologize at a rare press conference Thursday to mark the second half of his term, but he did not directly mention his wife. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea slammed Yoon’s public address at the press conference as one “full of excuses and tricks to avoid the situation."

Opposition parties tend to raise their voices at the shortcomings of a president, often amplifying the president's negative aspects. But the problem now is that many of Korean people also share the same negative views of Yoon’s presidency. This clouds the outlook for what's left of his term at a time when he needs all the help he can get to grapple with a slew of obstacles both at home and abroad.

According to a Gallup Korea poll released Friday, Yoon’s approval rating has dropped to 17 percent, the lowest since he took office in May 2022. In addition to the continued weakening of support, his disapproval rating also hit an all-time high of 74 percent.

For three weeks in a row, the scandals involving first lady Kim Keon Hee were cited as the main reason for Yoon’s high disapproval rating, reflecting deep public discontent, which is yet to be fully addressed.

An official from the presidential office was quoted as saying that Yoon would make efforts to win back public trust by implementing changes. The presidential office is now belatedly taking follow-up steps to Yoon’s public apology. First lady Kim has decided not to accompany Yoon on overseas trips and, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will refrain from public engagements until the end of the year.

In addition, the presidential office said that Yoon and Kim also changed their personal mobile phones to ensure all communication goes through official channels, a move aimed at preventing further controversies.

While these actions could be seen as meaningful to some, Yoon has a long way to go to reverse negative public perceptions. First and foremost, Yoon himself has to change by embracing advice and communicating with not only his allies but also his political foes, including those in opposition parties.

Initially, Yoon had said he would move beyond the conflicts between the liberal and conservative blocs. But the April 10 general election ended in a crushing defeat for his ruling People Power Party, which in turn made it extremely difficult for the Yoon administration to push ahead with ambitious reform plans.

Yoon’s rocky relations with key political figures including People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon, have also generated unnecessary conflict, giving the impression that he does not listen to any opinions from his critics.

Yoon’s medical reform plan also ended in a crisis. The Yoon administration attempted to lay the foundation for medical reforms by pushing through a 2,000-student increase in the medical school admissions quota in February, but he failed to garner support from the medical community for the plan, resulting in junior doctors resigning en masse.

South Korea's economy is also sluggish because of poor domestic demand. Outside of Korea, the forthcoming launch of the second Donald Trump administration in the US is expected to infuse more unpredictability into the Korea-US alliance and trade relations, an ominous prospect that will bring about more problems.

Given all the controversy and growing signs of trouble ahead, Yoon must change the way he handles state affairs and improve his communication style if he does not want to end up a lame duck president.