South Korea's New Leader Offers North Korea a Carrot
Beneath a sunny spring sky and before tens of thousands gathered at the parliamentary front lawn, Yoon Suk-yeol took the oath of office Tuesday as South Korea's 13th president.
Yoon, in a light blue tie, promised to do his utmost to elevate the country and make it respected by the world, based on the pillars of freedom, human rights, fairness and solidarity. The newly inaugurated leader also pledged to rebuild a "great nation … that truly belongs to the people."
From the rising cost of housing, food and commodities to the ongoing pandemic, global warming and shifting geopolitical loyalties, myriad challenges at home and abroad were not lost on Yoon, who up until early spring of last year worked as a career prosecutor and lawyer.
"It is futile to differentiate between domestic issues and international issues," he told the crowd. "When we assume a greater international role, we can also find the right solution for many of our domestic challenges."
The 61-year-old, who won the March presidential election by less than a percentage point, launches his five-year term with relatively low public expectations. Yoon takes the helm of the world's 10th-largest economy while facing repeated weapons testing by his country's neighbor to the north.
Most immediate security threat
In his inaugural address, President Yoon called North Korea's nuclear weapons program a threat to the security of not only South Korea but also the East Asia region at large.
The new statesman nevertheless invited Pyongyang to dialogue. And should North Korea embrace a genuine process for complete denuclearization, Yoon said his government would work with the global community on an "audacious plan that will vastly strengthen North Korea's economy and improve the quality of life for its people."
Earlier, at midnight, Yoon received his first military briefing as head of state at an underground bunker beneath the Defense Ministry complex that now houses his relocated presidential office. South Korea's military believes North Korea is close to completing preparations for a nuclear test that could come as early as this month, at leader Kim Jong Un's orders.
North Korea has held 15 rounds of weapons testing so far this year, including an intercontinental ballistic missile in March. The latest, a submarine-launched ballistic missile, occurred three days ahead of Yoon's inauguration.
President Joe Biden will visit Seoul and Tokyo starting later this month. In Japan, he will take part in a leaders' summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad. The bloc, which comprises India, Japan, United States and Australia and is viewed as an alliance to contain Beijing's growing power in the Indo-Pacific region, has been acerbically dubbed by China as "the Asian NATO."
