Dinner at Yongsan ends with chanting, 'We are one,' ignoring harsh public sentiments

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hosted a dinner meeting with the floor leadership of the People Power Party, including the party’s floor leader, Choo Kyung-ho, as well as standing committee chairpersons and committee secretaries, on Wednesday evening after he vetoed the special prosecutor law on First Lady Kim Keon-hee. The dinner lasted two hours and 15 minutes, 45 minutes longer than the recent dinner with the party’s new leadership, including the party leader Han Dong-hoon. The meeting ended with attendees chanting, “We are one. Together.”

The presidential office explained that the dinner was organized to cheer the ruling party’s floor leadership ahead of the 22nd National Assembly’s first national audit. That said, a sense of crisis or tension over the ruling party’s declining approval ratings or harsh public sentiments was not found in the four photos of the dinner released by the presidential office and a senior floor leader spokesperson’s account of the dinner’s atmosphere. After calling for a “productive national audit with the determination to play the role equal to that of 100 people,” President Yoon rebutted the opposition party’s criticism of the Armed Forces Day parade and the alleged dumping order of nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic. He also emphasized that healthcare reform must be pushed forward unwaveringly.

The current government’s healthcare reform is an area where public opinion is rapidly deteriorating due to serious side effects of the rapid expansion of medical school students. It is surprising that the audience did not raise any objections while the president vowed unwavering reform. There was no mention of the special prosecutor act vetoed by the president or the dismissal of the first lady’s charges for accepting a Dior bag. A series of scandals have been brought to the surface, including the allegations of the first lady’s interference in the nomination process and the controversy over a former presidential office administrator’s involvement in the party convention. The fact that he disputed the opposition party’s criticism and emphasized the implementation of unwavering healthcare reform while leaving out the biggest political issues at hand suggests that he doesn’t care about why public opinion has turned sour.

Coincidentally, the dinner was held ahead of the National Assembly’s Friday re-voting on the special prosecutor law regarding First Lady Kim. The opposition party criticized the dinner as an attempt to ensure votes. The exclusion of Han by mainly inviting the floor leadership is also due to the differences in views between Han and the floor leadership on resolving the issues surrounding the First Lady. “It is the party line that it should be rejected,” Chu said regarding the re-vote on the special prosecutor law. While Han also said rejection is the right decision, he refused to answer when asked what he would do if the special prosecution law were brought back. Are they not aware of how worse the public opinion will become after such a meaningless dinner ended with chanting “we are one” as if to prevent breakaway votes, or are they turning a blind eye to it?