When President Lee Jae Myung visited Sancheong, a county in southern South Korea where 14 people were killed in floods and landslides last month, he did something that his unpopular predecessor had refused to do: meet with victims after deadly disasters.
“I am sorry,” Mr. Lee said to villagers.
“No sir, it was nature at work,” one of them responded. “Even the president couldn’t have done anything.”
Such small yet repeated episodes of the president interacting with people, captured by TV cameras, have resonated throughout South Korea since Mr. Lee took office in early June. His appearance of being accessible and a listener, honed when he was a mayor and a provincial governor, is a tactic that is working well for him as president, too. It is a contrast with Yoon Suk Yeol, his conservative rival who was impeached and ousted after declaring martial law.
Mr. Lee’s human touch has helped him launch his new administration with strong approval ratings, only weeks after an election in which many South Koreans expressed deep suspicions about him. When Mr. Lee was the opposition leader, he was blamed along with Mr. Yoon for South Korea’s deep political polarization, which had paralyzed the government: Mr. Lee was as confrontational toward Mr. Yoon as Mr. Yoon was dismissive of Mr. Lee.
As president, Mr. Lee has adopted a more approachable style in an effort to mend a country that he has said was on the verge of civil war. He pledged greater national unity when he took office, even as the police and prosecutors went after his vanquished political enemies.
But the real tests for Mr. Lee lie ahead and have no near-term solutions. They include a rapidly aging population, a slowing economy and the rise of right-wing radicalism at home. Internationally, he must deal with a demanding President Trump and tensions with North Korea.
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The post Once Seen as Divisive, South Korea’s New Leader Tries for Charming appeared first on New York Times.
