{"id":2199997,"date":"2023-02-03T10:02:26","date_gmt":"2023-02-03T10:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/koreapro\/?p=2199997"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:09:49","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:09:49","slug":"yoon-suk-yeol-pays-respect-to-rok-dictator-in-latest-appeal-to-conservative-base","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/02\/yoon-suk-yeol-pays-respect-to-rok-dictator-in-latest-appeal-to-conservative-base\/","title":{"rendered":"Yoon Suk-yeol pays respect to ROK dictator in latest appeal to conservative base"},"content":{"rendered":"
President Yoon Suk-yeol <\/span>visited<\/span><\/a> the birthplace of former South Korean leader Park Chung-hee on Wednesday. He paid respects by offering flowers and burning incense at Park\u2019s memorial hall in Gumi, about 160 miles (260 km) southeast of Seoul, and wrote in the visitor\u2019s book, \u201cA great future led by a great leader. I, along with the people, will not forget and will continue the legacy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n But this was not just a routine visit to pay homage. As observers familiar with ROK history will recognize, Yoon\u2019s visit and words of praise were fraught with political significance.<\/span><\/p>\n Park was an infamous dictator who ruled the country with an iron fist for 17 years, but he also oversaw a period of rapid economic growth and championed anti-communism. Park is perhaps one of the most controversial historical figures in post-war South Korea but is a beloved icon among many older ROK conservatives.<\/span><\/p>\n Thus Yoon\u2019s decision to pay respects to the former leader <\/span>may be divisive<\/span><\/a>, but it hardly comes as a shock.<\/span><\/p>\n The president\u2019s pilgrimage to Park\u2019s home is less a celebration of dictatorship than a cynical attempt at shoring up political support before next year\u2019s vital parliamentary election. But the country\u2019s freely elected president praising dictators may not bode well for South Korea\u2019s democracy, and it is likely to further aggravate <\/span>political polarization<\/span><\/a> that has sharpened in recent years.<\/span><\/p>\n FALLING APPROVAL RATES<\/b><\/p>\n Yoon has never been a popular leader. Within the first 100 days of being in office, his approval rate fell as low as <\/span>24%<\/span><\/a> and steadied in the <\/span>mid-30s<\/span><\/a> in January after logging <\/span>low-40s<\/span><\/a> in December. However, <\/span>spiking<\/span><\/a> gas prices, <\/span>worsening<\/span><\/a> trade deficits, <\/span>falling<\/span><\/a> exports and <\/span>rising<\/span><\/a> recession fears mean that his approval rate could fall much further.<\/span><\/p>\n There are already signs of this happening as his <\/span>disapproval numbers are rising<\/span><\/a> in Daegu, which is especially worrying for Yoon as the city is the bastion of South Korean conservatism. Daegu is about 22 miles (35 km) away from Gumi.<\/span><\/p>\n Yoon has his sights set on next year\u2019s parliamentary elections, as the result of that election will either make or break his presidency. With the National Assembly firmly under the control of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), Yoon has struggled to accomplish his legislative goals. If the People Power Party (PPP) does not wrest control of the National Assembly from the DP, Yoon will be a lame duck just two years into his presidency.<\/span><\/p>\n The PPP will select its new leader in March, and whoever the party chooses, the party\u2019s fate will be <\/span>tied to Yoon\u2019s<\/span><\/a>. To ensure the PPP\u2019s victory, Yoon needs Daegu and the rest of North Gyeongsang Province to remain on his side. He defeated Lee Jae-myung by a mere <\/span>0.8 percentage points<\/span><\/a> during the presidential election, and he wouldn\u2019t have gotten that had the province\u2019s voters not <\/span>overwhelmingly supported<\/span><\/a> him as they did.<\/span><\/p>\n Strongman Park Chung-hee remains a popular figure in the province, where memorials, portraits and statues of him are common. Although the visit to Park\u2019s memorial hall could turn off moderate voters, Yoon cannot hope to do well in the parliamentary elections without his base solidly behind him.<\/span><\/p>\n