Yoon Suk Yeol: Was South Korea’s president thwarted by a spring onion?

In February, the price of a single apple in South Korea reached $7 (£5.50), albeit in high-end department stores. Fruit here is notoriously expensive, but for voters who have been grappling with rising grocery prices, that’s beyond the bottom line.

To address their concerns, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol visited a food market and was surprised by the “reasonable price” of green onions. In fact, this market is heavily subsidized. Online outrage and ridicule ensued.

“The president will be knocked down by a green onion,” one opposition leader exclaimed.

But food prices are just one of many reasons why President Yoon’s conservative party lost South Korea’s parliamentary election, which was seen as a vote of confidence in his first two years in power.

Mr Yin has always been unpopular. His approval rating has hovered around 30-40% since being elected with the narrowest vote margin in South Korea’s history (0.7%). Last month, half of those surveyed thought he had done a “very bad” job so far.

“There are a lot of events that have weakened his position,” said Dr. Li Xinxin, a political scientist and pollster. It started with a series of diplomatic gaffes that have made international headlines, such as when Mr Yoon was caught cursing on a microphone shortly after meeting US President Joe Biden. The incidents have embarrassed South Koreans, who believe Mr Yoon has tarnished their reputation overseas.

Then there is his wife, First Lady Kim Kun-hee, who, according to Professor Lee, “is disliked even more than the president.”

She was accused of plagiarizing college papers and stock manipulation. Last year, she was filmed accepting an expensive Dior handbag in what appeared to be a breach of anti-corruption laws. Despite her initial active role as first lady, Ms. Kim has not appeared in public with her husband since.

Mr Yin has also alienated voters with his confrontational political style. Mr. Yoon was a prosecutor with no political experience and was sometimes said to act more like a prosecutor than a politician.

“He comes across as stubborn, disobedient, uncompromising, and has developed an almost authoritarian attitude,” said Dr. Lee of the National Institute for National Unification in South Korea.

In short, President Yoon has failed to win over voters beyond his loyal conservative support base. The consequence is that his party failed to win control of parliament, meaning he will struggle to pass laws and address pressing issues such as a slowing economy, high housing prices and a rapidly aging population.

The opposition had taken control of parliament before Wednesday. The defeat made him the only president in South Korea’s constitutional history to face an opposition-led parliament for his entire five-year term. His authority has been severely undermined and he risks becoming what analysts call a “lame duck.”

With his domestic agenda bogged down, Mr Yoon has so far focused his efforts on foreign policy, where he has managed to make friends abroad despite his unpopularity at home. He came into office wanting South Korea to play a bigger role on the world stage and determined to break away from the short-sightedness of his predecessor, who toward the end of his term was preoccupied with making peace with North Korea.

Mr Yoon calls himself a defender of liberal democratic values ​​and has promised to condemn those who do not abide by them. Therefore, his strategy is to take a hard line against Pyongyang. He has stepped up military drills on the peninsula, imposed sanctions on North Korea and retaliated when Kim Jong Un tempted him.

His critics called his provocation unnecessary. North Korea is firing more weapons than ever before, and inter-Korean relations are at their worst in years.

But his relationship with the United States has flourished. Strengthening Seoul’s security alliance with Washington has been at the center of Mr Yoon’s foreign policy. When he sang Don McLean’s “American Pie” for President Biden at the White House, it symbolized the two countries were like-minded. Mr Yin is good news for the United States as it works to strengthen alliances in Asia to counter China.

Mr. Yoon won further respect from the United States by quelling a historic dispute with Japan and triggering a three-way security relationship between Tokyo, Seoul and Washington at great political cost. The move was unpopular at home, but Western diplomats praised the leader’s bravery and audacity. The lack of security ties between Japan and South Korea is seen as a major weakness in Asia.

But this boldness comes at a price. In the past, South Korea has walked a delicate tightrope between the United States and China, carefully balancing the needs of its military ally and largest trading partner. This approach is called “strategic ambiguity.” But ambiguity is not Mr. Yin’s style. He has been critical of China and has even warned about China’s behavior toward Taiwan, angering Beijing. This is something South Korea’s leaders have never done before. Mr. Yin’s comments seemed impulsive and did not sit well with some on his team.

“There is a feeling among some in the government that they have allowed relations with China to deteriorate too much, and they need to correct the balance after the election, especially to restore economic relations,” said Lee Dong-min, a professor of political science at Dankook University.

Some here believe that while espousing liberal democratic values ​​is a noble pursuit, it may not be the wisest strategy for a country caught between China and Russia, especially as both countries are increasingly at odds with their enemies. The closer it gets. As one official said, “North Korea is a factor in every decision we make.”

The biggest and most unpredictable challenge Mr. Yoon faces in the year ahead is the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House. During his tenure as president, Trump made overtures to Kim Jong Un and threatened to withdraw all U.S. troops from South Korea. Whichever direction Mr. Yin takes, Mr. Trump’s reelection may force him to change course.

Yet despite Mr Yin’s alliance with the West and his emergence as a champion of democracy, his government has been accused of backsliding democracy at home.

He has called opponents “communists,” attacked the media for “fake news,” and his office has filed defamation lawsuits against critical journalists. He has been accused of fomenting gender divisions and has vowed to abolish the government’s gender equality department. Unable to do this without parliamentary support, he left the post of gender minister vacant.

A recent report by the Swedish Institute for the Diversity of Democracy concluded that South Korea’s democracy has been on a “downward trend” since President Yoon took office. Jeongmin Kim, editorial director of a Korean professional news agency, said the study eventually caught on in the country: “It’s clear that people, at least liberals and centrists, may find this hypocrisy and feel embarrassed when they see this content. .to see Western leaders praising Yin as one of the protectors of democracy.”

Although parliamentary divisions are common in South Korea, Mr Yoon has never sat down with opposition leaders to seek compromise. Instead, he used his presidential veto on the torpedo law. He has used the veto more than any other president since the 1980s. This earned him a reputation as a man who didn’t care about being popular, but who would do what he believed in regardless of what others said or thought.

“What Yoon really cares about is being remembered by his die-hard supporters and history books, not what other people, parliament, or even his own party think of him,” Kim Jong-min said.

Yoon may have earned a place in the history books by reconciling with Japan. But as his authority erodes, his influence abroad will diminish in the future. At home, his lack of support means South Koreans are likely to experience more parliamentary gridlock, political hostility and polarization.