President Yoon Suk Yeol smiles during a town hall meeting on government policies on medical reforms at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. Joint Press Corps

President Yoon Suk Yeol's prerecorded interview which is expected to feature comments surrounding the controversy over his wife Kim Keon Hee's acceptance of a luxury bag as a "gift" is expected to be televised next Wednesday, replacing an envisaged Lunar New Year's press conference. During the interview, Yoon is also expected to mention his plan to improve the people's livelihoods during his third year in office.

Questions remain as to whether this interview can settle the negative public sentiment surrounding the first lady and eventually become a boost for the ruling People Power Party (PPP) as it campaigns for the April 10 general elections. The interview will likely be focused on delivering what Yoon will want to say to the public, and not answering questions that voters want to ask.

According to the presidential office, the New Year's interview with broadcaster KBS was conducted on Sunday and will be broadcast, Wednesday.

The main theme of the interview will be the president's thoughts on last year's state affairs, progress in his reform agenda concerning labor, education and pensions, and this year's policies related to people's livelihoods.

In doing so, Yoon is expected to also explain the controversy surrounding his wife. "Though details are yet to be fixed, the interview, if it takes place, is expected to include answers to what the public want to know about the president," one of the officials said.

First lady Kim Keon Hee meets Ukrainian children at the Ukrainian Center in Vilnius, Lithuania, on the sidelines of 2023 NATO summit, July 12, 2023. Yonhap

The first lady has been at the center of the political controversy after spy camera footage was released late last year, showing a pastor presenting a Christian Dior bag valued at around 3 million won ($2,240) to her.

Except for joint press conferences after summits with foreign leaders, Yoon has not held press conferences since Aug. 17, 2022, which marked his first 100 days in office. In 2023, he replaced a New Year's press conference with an interview with the conservative newspaper, the Chosun Ilbo.

While the president has been keeping his mouth shut on the controversy surrounding his wife, public sentiment against the administration has worsened, with polls showing that nearly 70 percent of voters want Yoon to provide an explanation about the controversy and the reason behind why he vetoed a separate special counsel probe bill on Kim's alleged involvement in manipulating stock prices of Deutsch Motors, a BMW car dealer in Korea.

Though Yoon apparently opted to explain the controversies through an interview, doubts remain as to whether this will help address the skepticism toward the ruling bloc before the general elections.

"The interview means that Yoon will be speaking based on prearranged scripts and questions, and this will not likely reverse the negative public perceptions toward the first lady and the administration," said Park Sang-byeong, a professor at Inha University's Graduate School of Policy Science.

"The president's New Year greeting event should involve candid conversations with the public and him answering questions on pending state affairs, ideally conveying positive messages to the country. On the other hand, an interview is about understanding someone's perspective from their point of view. This interview seems primarily focused on unilaterally delivering Yoon's messages."

Park and other political watchers say what matters in the interview will be Yoon's rhetoric on addressing the first lady controversy.

So far, the presidential office and the PPP have been saying the first lady is "a victim" of a planned set-up using a spy camera, and Yoon's messages during the interview are also expected to be in line with this view, though he may express regrets on the controversies.

"Yoon is doing an interview because of the general elections, as the public attention is on the controversy surrounding Kim, not the policies that the administration is now pushing," Park said.

"And the point is whether Yoon will make an apology. If he makes a sincere apology regarding the controversies, it will serve as a shield for the ruling bloc during the campaign. If he doesn't, the interview will be worse than not doing it."