A person watches a TV broadcast of President Yoon Suk Yeol speaking during a Cabinet meeting at Seoul Station, Seoul, April 16. Yonhap

President Yoon Suk Yeol apologized Tuesday after his ruling People Power Party (PPP) suffered a crushing defeat in last week's parliamentary elections, saying he failed to look into what people want and uphold their will.

Yoon made the remark during a Cabinet meeting, saying, "I, as the president, am at fault first," according to a senior presidential official. The apology came six days after the PPP was routed in the April 10 elections, winning only 108 seats in the 300-member National Assembly.

"I am sorry for failing to look properly into and uphold the will of the people," Yoon was quoted as saying.

Interpreting the election defeat as a public evaluation of the way he runs the government, Yoon emphasized the importance of communication with the people.

"We must all humbly accept the public sentiment revealed in the general elections," he said. "I will communicate more with a humbler and more flexible attitude, and be the first to listen carefully to the public sentiment."

The elections were seen as a stern judgment on the Yoon administration two years into its single, five-year term. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, presidential chief of staff Lee Kwan-sup and most senior presidential secretaries have offered to resign to take responsibility for the defeat.

Yoon, the first president since South Korea's democratization to work with an opposition-controlled parliament for all five years of his term, has faced growing calls to revamp his running of state affairs and improve relations with the National Assembly.

"Although in the two years since my inauguration, I have looked only to the people and taken the path for our national interest, I fell short of the people's expectations," Yoon told his Cabinet in opening remarks broadcast live.

"Even though I set the right direction for state affairs and did my best to put it into practice, I believe I was lacking in creating change to the extent it could be felt by the people," he said.

President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul, April 16. Yonhap

Yoon especially noted a lack of care for struggling ordinary citizens, saying despite his administration's best efforts to tame inflation, improve fiscal health, increase the housing supply and protect retail stock investors, none of those measures were enough to address the fundamental needs of lower income citizens.

"In the end, however right the direction of state affairs may be and however many good policies we push for, if the people cannot feel real change, the government has failed to fulfill its role," he said. "I will step closer to the people and delve more deeply into people's livelihoods, listen to the difficulties in the field, and more actively take care of people's lives."

Yoon vowed to accelerate the implementation of policies that are helpful to the people while filling any gaps by collecting public opinion through townhall meetings.

He indicated, however, that he has no intention to back down from his plans to increase admissions to medical schools, an issue that has caused thousands of young doctors to walk off their jobs in protest, disrupting health care services since February.

"I will continue to pursue the three major reforms in labor, education and pensions, as well as medical reform, while paying closer attention to rational opinions," he said. "The government must fulfill its responsibility in areas where it can while cooperating closely and further with the National Assembly."

The senior presidential official told reporters that the majority opinion within the Cabinet is that while the direction of government affairs has generally been correct, there have been some issues with communication.

President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul, April 16. Yonhap

There have been calls to resume Yoon's daily morning Q&A sessions with reporters, which were conducted just 100 days after he took office in May 2022.

"We expect various forms of communication, including those mentioned, to take place," the official said on the customary condition of anonymity.

Yoon also addressed Iran's attack on Israel over the weekend, saying tensions in the Middle East can have a direct impact on South Korea's economy and supply chains, further exacerbating the suffering of ordinary citizens.

He pledged to strengthen safety measures for South Korean nationals in the region and additionally called on the government to contain energy and supply chain risks while maintaining a firm readiness posture against potential security threats, including provocations from North Korea.

Yoon further noted that Tuesday marks the 10th anniversary of the sinking of the ferry Sewol, which left 304 people, mostly high school students, dead, and offered his deep condolences to the victims' families. (Yonhap)