There are various interpretations about the background of President Yoon Seok-yeol’s administration of state affairs in the second year of his administration, who said, “The most important thing is ideology,” and put anti-communist ideological politics at the forefront in 2023. Many say that President Yoon’s message of ‘division’, which has let go of the responsibility for national unity, is a move to encourage division and conflict that will turn the majority of the public, excluding active supporters, against him, but President Yoon does not care and does not hold back. President Yoon’s long-standing beliefs based on ‘liberalism’, the composition of the cabinet and staff surrounded by dogmatic personal characters and New Right factions, and the tense political polarization situation are cited as reasons for this.
President Yoon’s ‘anti-communist’ stance appears to be amplifying recently. The public messages on the 15th and 29th show this. “Communist totalitarian forces have always disguised themselves as democracy activists, human rights activists, and progressive activists and engaged in false propaganda and base and immoral operations” (Liberation Day celebration speech), “Communist totalitarian forces, their blind followers and opportunistic followers are false. He is engaged in psychological warfare to disrupt a free society through manipulation and propaganda, and he will never stop.” (Unification conversation with a senior member of the Advisory Council for Democratic and Peaceful Unification), his determination to further strengthen the clarity of ‘ideological politics’ can be read. .
In fact, President Yoon’s ‘anti-communist’ stance was evident even in the early days of his entry into politics, but it was not as blatant as this. After resigning from the position of Prosecutor General in 2021 and declaring his participation in politics, he used his anger against the mainstream Democratic Party of Korea activist group as a driving force for his political participation, criticizing the “regime that plundered the people” and “the agitators and corrupt interest cartels who call dictatorship and tyranny democracy” (political politics). Declaration of participation (press conference) was expressed in first language on the same day. However, the ruling party’s internal explanation is that starting one year after being elected, this tone began to be included in messages to the public, not just for conservative supporters, as an expression of confidence or a sense of mission. An official from the ruling party explained to the Hankyoreh on this day, “This message came as a result of examining the state affairs in each field for a year,” adding, “As president, I have a strong belief that I cannot leave the country like this.” It is said that the confirmation of frequent North Korean military demonstrations over the past year, the cargo union strike situation, and prosecutorial investigation cases linked to the labor union, such as the so-called ‘spy case’, became the trigger for bringing ‘anti-communism’ to the fore.
There is also an analysis that the composition of the cabinet and staff assisting the President and his dogmatic personal tendencies are strengthening President Yoon’s ideological and political tendencies. On this day, former National Assembly Secretary-General Yoo In-tae, a senior political figure, spoke to CBS (CBS) .) In a radio interview, “Hasn’t the New Right become conscious of it late?” and “There is a mixture of resentment that approval ratings are not increasing even though I am trying to do my best, and that resentment is ‘aren’t those who don’t support me anti-national forces?’ “It seems like it (continued) like this,” he said. In fact, there are many interpretations that President Yoon, who inherited many of the staff from the Lee Myung-bak administration, including Chairman Lee Dong-kwan of the Korea Communications Commission and First Deputy Director of the National Security Office Kim Tae-hyo, followed the New Right’s arguments and entered into an all-out historical debate, including the recent relocation of the bust of General Hong Beom-do. It is in this context that they push for improvement in Korea-Japan relations and claim to be at the forefront of the structure between Korea, the US, and Japan versus North Korea, China, and Russia in a situation where public consensus has not been formed. Former National Intelligence Service Director Park Jie-won told the Hankyoreh토토사이트, “It appears that President Yoon is being swayed by high-ranking aides (around the president) and the media who are advocating the eradication of left-wing political parties and organizations.” Representative Yoon Kun-young of the Democratic Party of Korea, who served as the head of the Blue House Government Affairs Situation Office under the Moon Jae-in administration, told the Hankyoreh, “The core of state administration is the president’s message, and if the president’s message is expressed in the language of division and conflict, the Republic of Korea will soon be divided. “No matter how well you want to run state affairs, you won’t be able to do it well,” he pointed out.
There is also a story that President Yoon, a political newcomer without a concrete support base, is using a right-directed message strategy with political intentions to rally supporters. However, with about 220 days left before the 22nd general election, voices of concern are rising among People Power Party lawmakers in the metropolitan area. A first-term People Power Party lawmaker mentioned the crisis in the metropolitan area, saying, “Ideological debate is a tool to attract more people to my side, but you can’t win the general election with that.” A member of the Yeongnam region said, “I know that relocating the bust of General Hong Beom-do is not helpful politically,” and added, “Even if it is unpopular, it is not helpful to think of it as something that speaks to the national foundation.”
Byeong-jin Ahn, a professor of political science at the Institute for Future Civilizations at Kyung Hee University, said, “In the current political situation where the ruling and opposition parties are sharply competing, it may be calculated that it is strategically advantageous to send out a message that abandons the moderates.” He added, “The president is saying that he will only gather passionate people in his camp.” “Evaluation of the use of division strategies will follow,” he said. Yoon Tae-gon, head of the MoA Political Analysis Office, pointed out, “Whether it is a good question or an uncomfortable question, the president has a responsibility to answer questions from the public and explain his thoughts, but the lack of such communication is also a problem.”