[Global Times Special Correspondent in South Korea Han Feng and Global Times Special Correspondent Wang Yun] On the evening of the 3rd, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Pelosi, who had just visited Taiwan, China, arrived in South Korea by a special plane. Earlier, there was a lot of discussion in South Korea about whether Yin Xiyue would hold talks with Pelosi. The South Korean presidential office responded, “Because the president is on vacation, there is no coordination and arrangement to meet with Pelosi.” For a while, where Yin Xiyue went on vacation aroused people’s curiosity. Soon, the answer was revealed. On the evening of the 3rd, photos of Yin Xiyue and his wife watching the performance in Seoul began to circulate on social media. According to the “Korea Economy” report, the President’s Office also officially released news later that Yin Xiyue and his wife Jin Jianxi were watching the performance in Seoul that day. After the performance, they also dined with the actors in a nearby restaurant, listening to the actors talk about the recent difficulties in the theater industry. And encouraged the actors. South Korea’s “news1” news website stated that this is Yin Xiyue’s first public itinerary after entering summer vacation mode on the 1st of this month.
Yin Xiyue started his first summer vacation this Monday. But the 5-day vacation was not as relaxing as one might think. South Korea’s “Seoul News” previously revealed that the South Korean President’s Office originally considered the plan of Yin Xiyue’s vacation, but finally decided to give up. According to the analysis of the report, this may be related to various intricate problems such as Yin Xiyue’s approval rate falling below 30%, the recent turmoil of the ruling National Power Party, the re-spreading of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in South Korea, and the poor economic situation. A person related to the President’s Office revealed to the outside world on the 1st that Yin Xiyue is resting at home, reducing work as much as possible, and usually takes walks and watches movies. According to the source, Yin Xiyue has not had a rest since June last year, and has a busy schedule after taking office as president. Regarding Yin Xiyue’s above-mentioned vacation arrangement, the Hankyoreh Daily reported that the opposition party criticized her for “enjoying a leisurely vacation.” Yu Sang-ho, chairman of the special measures committee of the Common Democratic Party, said on the 1st that the internal situation of the ruling party is complicated, and the people’s livelihood is in constant crisis, but the president is taking a leisurely vacation, which is depressing.
And Pelosi’s visit made Yin Xiyue “uneasy”, and it also caused a lot of discussions in South Korea. Pelosi’s visit to South Korea this time not only did not meet Yin Xiyue, but also did not see South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, because Park Jin had previously traveled to Cambodia to attend the conference. South Korea’s Kookmin Daily commented that as the number three figure in the U.S. government, Pelosi visited South Korea without meeting with the president and other government officials, which is rare. According to the report, many people were surprised that the president’s office did not arrange a meeting on the grounds that Yin Xiyue was on leave. Some Korean netizens questioned: “Is there a banquet to entertain the drama actors during the vacation, but Pelosi is not seen?” However, most analysts believe that the high-level Korean government, including Yin Xiyue, did not meet with Pelosi in order to avoid getting involved in the Taiwan Strait issue.
In an interview with the media on the 3rd, Kim Junhyung, a professor at Handong University in South Korea, said, “It’s right to disappear from the beginning!” He believes that South Korea should avoid being involved in the Taiwan Strait issue, and South Korea should deal with it cautiously and comprehensively. current situation. He also said, “I think Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan at this point and her critical remarks against China are provocative. I think (Yin Xiyue) decided to see Pelosi after thinking about the Taiwan issue. I don’t think we will meet. Better. If we feel as if we have done something wrong with the United States because Yin Xiyue is not there (Pelosi), that kind of thinking is problematic.”
Interestingly, Chosun Ilbo observed that for It is rare for Yin Xiyue to not meet with Pelosi because of her vacation. The ruling party has criticized it, but the opposition party has voiced approval. Yoo Seung-min, a former member of the National Power Party, said in a Facebook post that it is incomprehensible that the leader of the U.S. Congress of the ally visited South Korea, but the South Korean president did not meet. He believes that even if Yin Xiyue is on vacation, she should meet with Pelosi. On the contrary, the opposition party, which has been criticizing Yin Xiyue for a long time, has voiced its approval on this matter. Yu Sang-ho, chairman of the Democratic Party’s Extraordinary Countermeasures Committee, said that although it is important to welcome important people from the United States, it is not an issue worthy of criticism from the perspective of not getting too caught up in the Sino-US conflict.
Although Yin Xiyue and Pelosi did not meet in the end, Yonhap News Agency reported on the 4th that the two sides decided to call in order to express their welcome due to the visit of the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the allied countries to South Korea. Yin Xiyue and Pelosi had a call that lasted about 40 minutes that day.
Korean netizens also talked about Yin Xiyue’s move that she did not meet with Pelosi because of her vacation, but made a phone call. Someone said, “The president didn’t go abroad for vacation, but he only called and didn’t meet at home? It’s a move against common sense.” Someone sarcastically said, “The approval rate has fallen to the ground, and there is no reason to meet.” Others Mentioned that U.S. President Biden “shakes hands without looking at Yin Xiyue” before, and said, “No matter which American comes over, just make a phone call.”