◀ Anchor ▶
President Yoon Seok-yeol is expected to announce a message to the nation through a recorded interview with KBS on the 7th.
We have decided not to hold a New Year’s press conference this year as we did last year.
It is reported that he will also reveal his position on suspicions related to First Lady Kim Kun-hee, including receiving luxury bags.
First Lady Kim Kun-hee, who has not been exposed to the public for a while, is expected to make an appearance through the President and his wife’s Lunar New Year greetings.
This is reporter Kang Yeon-seop.
◀ Report ▶
Although the President’s Office has not revealed its official position, it has already begun internal preparations for the conversation, such as canceling scheduled business reports and holding a countermeasures meeting.
[한동훈/국민의힘 비대위원장]
“I don’t think it’s a matter for me to evaluate and judge. I think the President’s Office has taken various circumstances into consideration.”
It is known that the President’s Office plans to record the conversation on Sunday the day after tomorrow and then broadcast it on the 7th, two days before the Lunar New Year holiday.
Regarding the format of a conversation with an anchor rather than a press conference where questions are asked from several reporters, an official of the President’s Office said, “A conversation rather than a press conference is more effective in conveying the message and allows for in-depth conversation.”
In the interview, he is expected to reveal his position on the direction of government affairs in his third year in office, as well as his veto power over the Twin Special Prosecutors’ Act and the Itaewon Disaster Special Act.
It is also known that there will be mention of the suspicion of first lady Kim Kun-hee receiving luxury bags.
In a situation where the president and the ruling party leader were in a fight over his resignation over the handling of the suspicions about Ms. Kim’s bag, the president’s approval rating for state affairs fell to the 20% range for the first time in nine months.
On the morning of the presidential interview broadcast, a debate at the Kwanhun Club of People Power Party emergency committee chairman Han Dong-hoon is scheduled, and on the same day, the ruling party’s top leadership appears to be trying to win over public sentiment through talks and discussions.
The timing of the broadcast also appears to have taken into account the timing of Ms. Kim Kun-hee’s public actions, who have been out of the public eye for nearly 50 days.
[윤석열 대통령 부부 ‘설 명절 인사’ (2023년 1월 21일)]
“I hope this year will be full of health and happiness.”
It is interpreted that he was concerned about backlash if he appeared in the Lunar New Year greetings without expressing his position on Mrs. Kim.
President Yoon, who said that communication with the press is communication with the people, continued to skip the New Year’s press conference this year as he did last year.
An official from the President’s Office said, “We need to make an effort to seek understanding from the people,” and attention will be paid to how much the President will reveal his stance in response to this during the pre-recorded and edited broadcast interview.
This is Kang Yeon-seop from MBC News.
Video coverage: Hwang Sang-wook / Video editing: Woo Seong-ho
Survey request and organization: Gallup Korea
Period: January 30th – February 1st
See the website of the National Election Opinion Survey Deliberation Committee.
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