President Yoon’s unconvincing apology at press conference

President Yoon Suk-yeol bows and apologizes while he delivers a public statement at the presidential office building in Yongsan, Seoul, on November 7. Courtesy of the presidential office

President Yoon Suk-yeol bowed his head on November 7, saying, “I have caused many concerns that worried the people despite my efforts,” adding, “Everything is due to my fault and my lacking virtue.” However, he said “it was difficult to say specifically what he was apologizing for.” He denied allegations of first lady Kim Keon-hee’s involvement in stock price manipulation and criticized the Special Prosecutor Act for Kim proposed by the opposition party as “political instigation.”

President Yoon held a public statement and press conference at the presidential office for a total of 2 hours and 20 minutes. In his speech, Yoon said, “The work that I started for the people's lives and the future of Korea has caused inconvenience to the people, and the things around me have caused worry and concern to the people.” “First of all, I give a sincere apology to the people, and then proceed with the briefing on state affairs,” he said, before standing up and bowing. “I am well aware of the shortcomings of myself and the government. I will fix what needs to be fixed,” he said, adding, “We will strive for reform and renewal with the mindset of serving the people.”

“There are many things that are targeting me and demonizing my wife,” he said at the press conference. In response to the opposition's push for a Special Prosecutor Act for Kim, he said, “The allegations are made up by the opposition party and have no objective basis,” calling them “violations of the separation of powers,” “political incitement,” and “human rights abuses.” When asked to stop Kim’s public activities, he said, “She is naive in some ways, and I think such a problem has arisen because she has a tendency that she can't cut ties if she gets help from someone.” “I think the risk can be reduced by setting up a second office dedicated to supporting the first lady’s affairs,” he said. On the same day, President Yoon appointed Jang Soon-chil, the president's second secretary for Civil society as the deputy chief of the second office.

Despite the release of the recording of his phone call with Myung Tae-gyun, Yoon said, “I don't remember talking to him about the nomination” and “I have never done anything inappropriate and have nothing to hide.” He denied any involvement in the nomination of former People’s Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun, saying that the reason he answered the call from Myung on May 9, 2022, the day before his inauguration, was “only because he felt sorry for him” and that “I never told him to nominate someone.”

In response to the impeachment calls against him, Yoon said, “Impeachment prosecutions are for people who have committed very serious crimes,” adding, “It is exceptional, but it is being overused.” “I don't know how to use gimmicks or tricks to raise approval ratings, and I am not that type of person,” he said, adding that his mindset of “athletes don't look at the scoreboard” has not changed. "We are searching for and verifying candidates to show the renewal through personnel changes at an appropriate time," he said, adding that he is “thinking about the timing more flexibly.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, told reporters, “I don't think it's something the people will agree with.” “He blew the last chance the people gave him,” said Hwang Un-ha of the Rebuilding Korea Party, adding, “he can't win back the people's sentiment with the press conference, which just beat around the bush.”

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.