The presidential office announced on Wednesday that President Yoon Suk-yeol has postponed his visits to Germany and Denmark, which were originally scheduled for this week.
While the details of the week-long trip, for which he was to depart on Sunday and included a state visit to Germany and an official visit to Denmark, were being coordinated with the two countries, the visits have been pushed back indefinitely with less than a week to spare.
The presidential office told reporters that, after careful consideration, it was decided that it would be better to delay the trip, and that the postponement was reached with talks between both countries.
This marks the first time that Yoon has canceled or postponed an overseas visit since taking office.
This means that the economic delegation scheduled to accompany Yoon on this trip, which was to be focused on fields such as semiconductors, energy, and biotechnology, will also have to wait.
While the presidential office declined to give an official reason for the sudden postponement, Yoon’s aides have stated that the trip was canceled to maintain a focus on “public livelihood.”
This can be understood to mean a judgment was made that an overseas visit by Yoon just shy of two months out from the general election could be a political liability.
Concerns were raised among Yoon’s aides that the absence of the president amid the looming possibility of collective action by doctors following a medical school enrollment policy reform and North Korea’s frequent shows of force could lead to many voters turning their backs on Yoon and his party.
In 2023 alone, Yoon traveled abroad 13 times, with three trips to Europe in the second half of the year alone.
However, seeing that presidential trips are organized for at least several months in advance, the announcement of a postponement of a trip so close to its slated start is unusual. In particular, it is unusual to postpone a state visit when such visits occur only once in a presidential term.
Some suggest that debate over whether the first lady, Kim Keon-hee, should accompany Yoon on the trip played into the decision to delay it.
Presidents are usually invited to state visits with their partners, but after being embroiled in controversy over accepting a Dior bag, Kim has been absent from all public appearances since her trip to the Netherlands last December.
A senior presidential official called claims that the first lady is the real reason for the postponement of the trip “preposterous, made-up fantasies that are certainly not true.”
By Kim Mi-na, staff reporter
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