Asia | Dangerous waters

South Korea’s incoming president faces a tough tenure

Yoon Suk-yeol is already unpopular

|SEOUL

FOR ONCE, the braised shark fin is not the most controversial thing about Yeong Bin Gwan. The grand banquet hall in Seoul, famed for the dubious delicacy, is where Yoon Suk-yeol, South Korea’s incoming president, will have his inauguration on May 10th. The opposition Minjoo party complained that the event’s 3.3bn-won ($2.6m) budget makes it the most expensive inauguration ever. Mr Yoon’s people explained that the venue adds only a meagre 500,000 won to the bill. Still, a Minjoo spokesman said it was tantamount to declaring South Korea a country where “the president comes first”.

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Dangerous waters”

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