President Yoon Suk-yeol answers reporters' questions during an interview on his way to the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, July 26. Korea Times file

By Nam Hyun-woo

Despite the pros and cons, President Yoon Suk-yeol has been carrying out impromptu interviews with the press on a daily basis to publicize his views on the latest issues he is asked about. However, he seems to have forgotten the original reason behind the practice as a means of communicating with the public, as Yoon has begun to pick and choose the questions that he wants to answer.

According to the presidential office, Yoon will go on holiday until Friday and reflect on his ideas for state affairs. He will be staying in Seoul during his summer vacation.

As the president will take one week off, his morning ritual of answering reporters' questions at the entrance of his apartment building will not take place during the period. The earliest possible day to resume the Q&A sessions will be Aug. 8.

The last time he took questions from reporters was July 26, when he slammed the protests by high-ranking police officials around the nation against his administration's plan to set up a supervisory bureau over the police under the interior ministry, calling their collective action "a serious breach of discipline."

On the afternoon of July 26, a photograph of Telegram messages between Yoon and the ruling People Power Party's (PPP) acting Chairman Kweon Seong-dong was released, in which Yoon described PPP Chairman Lee Jun-seok as a troublemaker "pointing guns inwards at us."

With Kweon and other members of the party's leadership resigning in the aftermath of the text messages, Yoon, who had been the one who sent those messages to Kweon, did not appear for the morning Q&A sessions on July 27 and 28 because he was attending events outside the presidential office.

On July 27, reporters were waiting in the lobby of the presidential office to ask Yoon questions there, when he returned to the office after an outside event. However, officials from the public relations office dispersed the reporters, claiming they were "mean," "not keeping to the rules we agreed to," and "crossing the line."

After dispersing the reporters, Choi Young-bum, the senior presidential secretary for public relations, held a news conference to blame reporters' "ambushing being inappropriate," saying they were "not keeping to the rules of doorstepping." During the conference, Yoon went straight into his office, snubbing the questions of some of the remaining reporters.

On July 29, Yoon was supposed to come to the office in the morning, because he was scheduled to receive a briefing from the education minister. However, the presidential office abruptly changed the schedule and Yoon started his day by visiting the Government Complex Seoul in Gwanghwamun to preside over a meeting on the COVID-19 response, which triggered suspicions that Yoon was avoiding being doorstepped by reporters.

Ruling People Power Party's former acting Chairman Kweon Seong-dong sends a Telegram message to President Yoon Suk-yeol during a National Assembly interpellation session on July 26. The messages sent from Yoon read, "Our party (the PPP) is doing well," and, "The party has changed after replacing the chairman who was pointing guns inwards at us." Joint Press Corps

Reporters' impromptu Q&A sessions with Yoon started on May 10, when the president arrived at his office for the first time and shared his feelings with reporters waiting in the lobby. Though there have been several debates between reporters and the public relations office about doing the impromptu interviews without compromising the president's security, there have been no fixed "rules" concerning occasions and times, banning reporters from asking questions or waiting for comments.

During the early stage of these sessions, Yoon was confident and did not avoid sensitive questions. Yoon's straightforward remarks became the subject of controversy, but the sessions were also interpreted as an opportunity to hear the president's ideas more clearly. Multiple aides of Yoon also said that these reporter doorstepping sessions are one of the trademarks of the Yoon administration and that the president himself is also proud of them.

As Yoon's approval ratings have continually dropped in recent weeks, however, Yoon has been limiting the number of questions he takes, while refusing some sensitive questions. On July 20, Yoon refused to talk about whether law enforcement would be mobilized to end the strike of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering's subcontracted workers. A day later, Yoon also refused to give further explanation on his comments that his "star ministers should be in the press often," which the opposition bloc criticized as the president dodging his responsibilities.

With Yoon facing his 100th day in office on Aug. 17, it appears that Yoon and the presidential office have forgotten the reasons why they relocated the presidential office and allowed reporters to be closer to the president in the first place. It remains to be seen whether Yoon will be able to regroup during his vacation, and be confident with media questions again.