President Yoon Suk Yeol holds an official press conference at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, to commemorate his first 100 days in office in this Aug. 17, 2022 photo. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon

President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to present his stance on multiple politically contentious issues in a press conference at the presidential office, Thursday, on the eve of the second anniversary of his inauguration, his office said Monday.

This will be his second press conference, following the first one held on Aug. 17, 2022, where he marked his first 100 days in office. Since then, Yoon has primarily communicated through pre-recorded interviews or public addresses without taking questions from reporters.

The decision to hold this rare press conference is viewed as a clear attempt to address public criticism regarding Yoon's perceived lack of communication and uncompromising approach, which were identified as some of the reasons behind the ruling People Power Party's (PPP) crushing defeat in the April 10 general elections. On April 16, the president interpreted the election outcome as a public evaluation of his governance style, underscoring the importance of effective communication with the people.

The success or failure of the event will largely depend on how convincing Yoon's arguments are regarding multiple controversies, such as corruption allegations involving the first lady, Kim Keon Hee, and the government's alleged interference in an investigation into the death of a Marine.

Additionally, his ability to address key policy issues, including plans to increase medical school enrollment quotas, will be crucial in determining the event's outcome. The president's ability to provide clear and satisfactory explanations and demonstrate effective leadership in addressing these contentious issues will be critical to winning back public trust and confidence.

"President Yoon has expressed his willingness to increase communication with the public through the media," an official at the presidential office said. "The press conference is aimed at giving detailed explanations about what the public wants to know as well as some misunderstanding."

During the event, Yoon will discuss his administration's performance over the past two years and outline his plans for the next three years in an address to the public. He will then move to a press conference venue for a question-and-answer session covering a wide range of topics.

One of the biggest issues is the special counsel bill aimed at unearthing the truth behind the government's alleged interference in the military's investigation into the death of Marine Cpl. Chae Su-geun during a flood rescue operation in July 2023.

The bill was railroaded last week by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which controls the National Assembly, despite protests from PPP members.

Yoon is expected to point to legal issues and other problems related to the special counsel bill — as claimed by the ruling bloc — in a bid to justify his anticipated veto of the bill.

He is also expected to mention allegations that the first lady was involved in manipulating stock prices of Deutsch Motors, a BMW car dealer in Korea, between 2009 and 2012. Kim is mired in another controversy that she received a Dior handbag from a Korean American pastor in 2022.

As the DPK is pushing for another special counsel probe into those two issues surrounding the first lady, Yoon is likely to maintain a cautious tone and emphasize that state prosecutors have already initiated investigations into these matters.

With regard to his controversial plan to increase the medical school enrollment quota, the president is expected to continue to assert the need to raise the number of doctors as part of his medical reform initiative, and urge striking physicians to stop collective action and engage in dialogue with the government.

The plan has provoked a nationwide walkout by more than 10,000 trainee doctors and consequent disruptions to medical services since February.

The press conference comes as Yoon's approval rating has consistently remained in the lower 30 percent range.

His approval rating stood at 30.3 percent, a slight rebound after falling for three consecutive weeks — from 32.6 percent to 32.3 percent and 30.2 percent — according to a survey conducted by the polling agency Realmeter and released on Monday.

The survey of 2,004 adults from April 29 to May 3 had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.

Respondents who disapproved of his performance accounted for 65.5 percent of the total, down 1.4 percentage points from the previous week.