President Yoon to start summer vacation Monday, expected to visit regions to stimulate economy

President Yoon Suk Yeol will head off for summer vacation on Monday, a trip that is tipped as an opportunity for him to recharge, review and prepare to run state affairs in the second half of the year.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, chats with merchants at a traditional market in Geoje, South Gyeongsang, on Aug. 4, 2023, during his summer vacation. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

President Yoon Suk Yeol will head off for summer vacation on Monday, a trip that is tipped as an opportunity for him to recharge, review and prepare to run state affairs in the second half of the year.

Yoon is expected to visit various locations outside Seoul to help stimulate the local economy during the break. However, the exact duration and itinerary remains flexible, a presidential official said Friday.

This marks Yoon's third vacation since his inauguration in May 2022.

Yoon, at a lunch meeting with presidential staffers Thursday, urged everyone to use their vacation days, but encouraged them to travel domestically, rather than going abroad, to help stimulate the local economy.

On the first day of his weeklong summer vacation in August last year, Yoon visited Gunsan in North Jeolla, where LS Group made large investments in the secondary battery industry. He later visited a traditional market in Geoje and the Jinhae Naval Base in South Gyeongsang and made a stop at the former presidential retreat Cheongnamdae in North Chungcheong.

Officials said that Yoon is likely to visit a military facility as well as traditional markets again this year during his time off.

The president's vacation is often dependent on the domestic situation.

Last year, Yoon's vacation was cut short, with the president returning from break one day early to the Yongsan presidential office to inspect the status of the World Scout Jamboree. The event was plagued by a series of mishaps, including a heat wave and an incoming typhoon.

During his summer vacation in 2022, Yoon took five days off, mostly staying at his private residence in Seocho-dong in southern Seoul.

For presidents, a vacation doesn't necessarily correlate with rest. Sometimes, it can come before important political decisions and announcements.

After former President Kim Young-sam's summer vacation at the Cheongnamdae presidential villa, he returned to the Blue House in August 1993 and announced he would immediately implement a real-name financial transaction system, requiring that the real name of an individual or a legal entity be used in financial transactions, issued as a presidential emergency order.

This eventually has led to the evolution of a Cheongnamdae initiative, as it has become an important place where presidents go before making important decisions. Cheongnamdae, which opened to the public in 2003, literally translates to Blue House of the south.

It is also a site where major Cabinet reshuffles were decided before the president announced them after summer break. This was the case for former President Lee Myung-bak, who replaced the prime minister and nine ministers after taking a vacation there in August 2010 in his third year in office.

Former President Park Geun-hye returned from her first vacation in August 2013 and replaced five staff members, including her chief of staff, in a drastic reshuffle that took place less than six months after taking office.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]