By UN Journal Lee Jon-young

President Yoon Suk-yeol held a luncheon with Yonsei University Professor Emeritus Kim Hyung-seok at the Yongsan Presidential Office on April 3. The President  visited and talked with Professor Kim since his retirement as Prosecutor General in March 2021, and has always expressed his admiration for him by reading his books such as "One Hundred Years of Life.”
 

"I visited you at this time three years ago and heard great comments from you," the president said at the beginning of the luncheon, "and I wanted to have you here as soon as possible after taking office, but I finally got to meet you."

Evaluating the policies implemented by the Yoon administration over the past two years, Professor Emeritus Kim said, "In particular, normalizing relations between South Korea and Japan is a difficult task, but you have done it very well." 

Pointing out the problems with the previous government's policies, such as income-led growth, fiscal populism, nuclear power phase-out, house price explosion, and the wealth tax bomb, Professor Kim suggested, "If President Yoon has been trying to correct the mistakes of the previous government, I hope that after the general election, he will properly realize liberal democratic values in various fields."

"I am also a professor, but it is not advisable for medical professors to sympathize with the collective behavior of medical students, such as submitting resignation letters as a group, rather than dissuading the collective behavior of medical students. It is disappointing."

After the luncheon, the President showed Prof. Kim around the presidential office, the summit hall, and the State Council chamber, and introduced his domestic and international activities. 

"I've been to the Blue House before, but I think the Yongsan office is better," Kim said, "I feel very confined in the Blue House, but I like Yongsan because it's an open space." 

The president replied, "Since moving to Yongsan, I've been in the same building with my staff, so it's good to be able to communicate with them all the time."