Yoon delays state visit to Europe at short notice

President Yoon Suk Yeol has postponed plans for a seven-day state trip to Germany and Denmark from Feb 18 to 24. “The president will be postponing state visits to the two countries, which had been scheduled for next week,” announced the Presidential office. The reasons cited were “various factors were considered.” In previous cases, state-level visits had been canceled at short notice, but MERS and other urgent issues had been involved. There has been no precedent of not explaining the reason for the delay.

The government spent many months preparing for state visits to Germany and Denmark. It is unknown what was explained to the two countries for the delay, but the message was delivered on Wednesday. Though the Presidential Office explained that the countries had been understanding, delaying the visit at short notice is a diplomatic blunder. The scheduled visit had been criticized, along with the recent state visit to the Netherlands in December last year, as visits to Europe being “too frequent.” The Presidential Office would be aware of rumors of the president visiting Europe twice over two months when he could have made one visit to three countries.

The bigger issue is that there was no explanation for the delay. This critical information was missing in the official briefing, even though the visit was fully delayed. Some speculate that the reason for the delay is to remove any possible issues associated with the First Lady before the general elections. The First Lady has not made any public appearance since her state visit to the Netherlands in December amid rumors of receiving luxury bag bribes. If the First Lady visits Germany and Denmark, she would be spotlighted for attending luxurious state events. If she does not attend, that would also be controversial. Perhaps the decision to delay the visit is to avoid potential disruption to the upcoming general election, but it is a significant blunder in Korea’s diplomacy.

The delay of the visit is attributable to the President’s interview with KBS and the decision to handle the First Lady’s scandal through the Special Inspector General, the Office of the Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs, and the Second Annex Office. Yoon, who ignored the New Year's press conference, did not properly apologize or express regret during the interview. If he had addressed public opinion at that time, the visit might not have been postponed. The public is fully aware of the international protocol of the spouse of the state leader accompanying state visits. Eventually, President Yoon and his aides’ repeated failure to understand public opinion produced such outcomes.