South Korea’s Yoon vows to listen to public after humbling election defeat

SEOUL, April 16 (UPI) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday he would listen to the public and work to improve living standards after a parliamentary election last week sent a stinging rebuke to his administration and the ruling People Power Party.

"Helping people in need and taking care of their livelihood is the reason for the government's existence," Yoon said during televised remarks at a Cabinet meeting.

"In that respect, we must all humbly accept the public sentiment expressed through this general election," he said. "I will communicate with a humbler posture and a more flexible attitude, and I will listen to the people's sentiments first."

The opposition Democratic Party claimed 175 out of 300 seats in the National Assembly in a midterm election last week, holding onto a majority that will impede the conservative Yoon's agenda for the remaining three years of his mandatory single five-year term.

Yoon's People Power Party and its allies claimed only 108 seats in the unicameral legislature.

In attendance at the Cabinet meeting were Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, chief of staff Lee Kwan-sup and several senior presidential secretaries, all of whom have offered to resign to take responsibility for the defeat.

The vote was widely seen as a referendum on Yoon, who has been saddled with low approval ratings over his handling of a wide range of issues from sky-high housing prices and soaring food costs to concerns over the country's plunging birth rate, which is the lowest in the world.

Yoon took office in 2022 after edging out his liberal opponent Lee Jae-myung by a razor-thin margin. The Democratic Party has held a majority in parliament since 2020, however, severely hampering Yoon's efforts to push through economic reforms that include taking on labor unions and reducing regulations on businesses.

On Tuesday, Yoon defended several of his administration's policies -- such as those meant to increase housing supply and protect retail stock investors -- but acknowledged that they didn't make enough of an impact.

"Over the past two years since taking office, I have walked a path for the national interest with only the people in mind, but I have failed to live up to the people's expectations," he said. "Although we did our best to set the right direction for government administration and put it into practice, I think it was not enough to create a change that the people could feel."

Yoon added that he planned to continue pursuing major labor, education and pension reforms, but would "listen more closely to reasonable opinions."

He also indicated that he would not back off on a controversial plan to increase medical school admissions, which has led to a standoff with striking trainee doctors that has dragged on since February.