Here comes the double-edged sword

We hope the president to respect the office’s main function: canvassing public opinion.

President Yoon Suk Yeol will hold a press conference Thursday, a day before the second anniversary of his presidency. The press conference comes 21 months after his last one in August 2022 on the occasion of his 100th day in office. After stopping his signature doorstep interviews in November that year, the president didn’t have any Q&A sessions with the press until the April 10 parliamentary elections.

The press conference on Thursday carries significance as it represents his second bid to communicate with the public following his first face-to-face meeting with Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung last month since he was elected as president.

What attracts our attention is the restoration of the office of the senior secretary for civil affairs, which he abolished to keep his campaign promise. President Yoon is expected to announce the re-establishment of the office as early as Tuesday. Former Vice Justice Minister Kim Joo-hyun will take the post.

The revival of the office will be a double-edged sword for the president. First of all, he can listen to various voices of the people through the office and reflect them as he runs the country. The office also can streamline the complicated screening system for candidates for senior posts, which is divided between the presidential office, the Justice Ministry and the police, and help restore public trust in the government.

But the office for civil affairs can make the president fall into the temptation of inspection and surveillance. Officials in Sejong City, the administrative capital of Korea, already fear upcoming reinforcement of public discipline. Strengthening discipline on government employees are necessary, but it can weaken the morale of officialdom, too.

The DP worries about the possibility of the presidential office trying to rein in the opposition after controlling the prosecution and the police. Some even express concerns that the office could serve as a mechanism to effectively defend the president from allegations against the first lady and the DP-proposed special act to revisit the mysterious death of a Marine.

If the president does not dispel such misunderstandings, it could backfire, as seen during the Moon Jae-in and Park Geun-hye administrations. As a prosecutor, Yoon led investigations into the power abuse of the office of the senior secretary and brought justice to two senior presidential secretaries on the job.

President Yoon most likely abolished the office for civil affairs to avoid criticism against the office for its high-handed approach to state affairs. If the president wants to reinstate the office to help his governance, he must instruct its new head to follow the rules. We hope the president to respect the office’s main function: canvassing public opinion.