South Korea swore in its new president Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday (May 10th), who started his five-year term by calling on North Korea to give up its nuclear arsenal, as relations between the two neighbors go through a period of strong tensions.
To discover
LIVE - War in Ukraine: follow minute by minute the evolution of the conflict
Read alsoSouth Korea: Yoon Suk-yeol brings the conservatives back to power
The 61-year-old conservative takes office as increasingly belligerent North Korea has conducted a record 15 missile tests since January, including two last week.
Seoul and Washington also suspect it of wanting to resume its nuclear tests soon.
Tuesday at midnight, he attended his first briefing as head of the army with the highest officials of the general staff, in the bunker located under the presidential palace.
After being sworn in in a giant ceremony at the National Assembly in Seoul, Yoon Suk-yeol in his inaugural speech called on North Korea to get rid of its nuclear arsenal, which he says poses a threat for global security.
He said that if Pyongyang
"truly embarks on a process of complete denuclearization"
, it will be ready to present a
"bold plan"
to revive the North Korean economy.
“Today we face multiple crises
,” he added, citing the Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain issues and global conflicts which he said
“cast a big shadow on us”
.
"Crude Boy"
Elected narrowly in March, Yoon Suk-yeol, a former prosecutor new to politics, came to power with a popularity rate of barely 41%, one of the lowest in the history of South Korean democracy for a beginning of term, according to a recent Gallup poll.
The president has promised a tougher foreign policy for his country, the world's 10th largest economy, after the failed attempts at rapprochement with the North that marked the mandate of his predecessor Moon Jae-in.
In the wake of his electoral victory, Yoon Suk-yeol pledged to
"deal with severity" with
the threat posed by the Kim Jong Un regime.
"But the door to dialogue is always open
," he told his colleagues .
supporters.
During his election campaign, however, he called Kim Jong Un a
"rude boy"
, telling voters:
"If you give me a chance, I'll teach him good manners"
.
Yoon Suk-yeol also called for a stronger relationship with his American ally, and spoke with President Joe Biden, pledging in particular to maintain "close coordination" on North Korea.
Mr. Biden is expected in South Korea at the end of May.
Read also“Down with women who hate men”: anti-feminism is rampant in South Korea
Domestically, growing public frustration with Moon Jae-in's liberal government appears to have been behind his political opponent's rise to power.
Moon had won the 2017 presidential election by promising to implement an equal opportunity program, after the dismissal of his predecessor Park Geun-hye, mired in a corruption scandal.
But he was subsequently accused of laxity with his own collaborators who were found guilty of taking bribes.
He has also been criticized for his economic policies, accused of having widened inequalities instead of reducing them.
Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to propose a set of reforms radically different from those of his predecessor.
About 40,000 people were invited to the inauguration ceremony, which will be by far the most expensive ever organized with a budget of 3.3 billion won (2.5 million euros).
The slogan chosen is:
“Once again, the Republic of Korea!
A new country of the people”
.
The American delegation is led by Douglas Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Japan and China, with whom Yoon Suk-yeol intends to ease the sometimes stormy relations, sent high-level representatives to the ceremony.