SEOUL (Reuters) : South Korea’s chief executive will suspend casual media briefings they have held nearly every time since taking workplace in May, his office said on Mon, citing rising numbers of COVID-19 infections like a survey showed the fall in his authorization ratings.
The end of the free-wheeling briefings, which shattered with years of custom as President Yoon Suk-yeol sought in order to step up transparency, also comes amid increasing questions over scandal and party uncertainty.
Yoon’s approval ratings was at 37%, pollster Realmeter’s survey showed on Monday, lower from more than 52% in the first week of June, while 57% now disapproved of his overall performance.
In the statement, Yoon’s workplace said other insurance coverage of the president would also be limited, with spokespersons switching in order to mainly written responses, along with photographs plus videos of their events, rather than keeping in-person briefings.
“In view of the vulnerability to the spread of infectious diseases, all of us ask for your understanding, inch it added.
Health regulators have warned the country is facing a brand new wave of bacterial infections, with some experts forecasting hundreds of thousands of new instances in coming weeks.
Monday’s 12, 693 new COVID-19 infections required South Korea’s tally to 18, 524, 583, with 18 fatalities for a toll associated with 24, 661 since the pandemic began.
After keeping down infections and deaths for a lot of the pandemic with strict tracing, tracking and quarantine steps, South Korea slipped most curbs this year despite a huge influx of Omicron-variant infections.
Scandal has cost Yoon two nominees for a single ministerial position, a first in South Korea’s history, and ethics questions possess plagued several other recommendations for top office.
On Fri, his conservative Individuals Power Party (PPP) was forced to postpone its leader Shelter Jun-seok, 37, more than accusations of intimate misconduct in 2013.
(Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)