Photo: Yoon Suk-yeol shops for a new pair of shoes on his first weekend as the president. Credit: Unknown.
For the first few days at a new job, most people would try and make a good impression by showing up on time. Yoon Suk-yeol 윤석열, apparently, is not most people.
In a country where most people leave home for work no later than 8 a.m., the first day of South Korea’s most famous commute - covering approximately 7 kilometers from Yoon’s home in Seocho-dong 서초동, across the Han River 한강 to Yongsan 용산 - began at 8:23 a.m. on May 11. In the following days, Yoon’s commute would begin progressively later. On May 12, Yoon left his home at 9:10 a.m. The next day, the day after North Korea’s first missile test of his term, 9:55 a.m.
Yoon also had a relaxing weekend according to the presidential spokesperson: “On the first weekend since his inauguration, President Yoon Suk-yeol had no official event on Saturday. Instead, with First Lady Kim Geon-hee 김건희, he visited a department store and a market, and strolled through the Namsan Hanok Village 남산한옥마을.”
Yoon Suk-yeol, who has advocated for a 120-hour work week, is notorious for not showing up on time. During the presidential campaign, it was practically expected that Yoon would be late by between 30 minutes to an hour for each event. For the memorial ceremony for the Jeju Massacre 제주학살 held on April 3, then-president-elect Yoon walked in ten minutes after the event began, during the moment of silence.