[1/2] South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol attends the ASEAN-South Korea Summit at the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 6, 2023. In South Korea, the label of communist carries higher stakes than in many Western democracies with the ongoing threat from ostensibly communist North Korea and Cold War-era laws that effectively ban activities deemed related to communism. “There is a legitimacy problem for Yoon in the sense that the gap between popular opinion in South Korea and what is being pursued internationally is increasing," Gray said. In a speech earlier this month, Yoon said South Korea's freedom is "under constant threat" from "communist totalitarian and anti-state forces" who are critical of South Korea's deepening ties with the U.S. and Japan. "The president keeps emphasizing the threat from communist forces which don't exist," a spokesperson for the Democratic Party said at a briefing last week.

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Persons: Yoon Suk, yeol, Tatan, Yoon's, Yoon, Kevin Gray, Gray, Andrew Yeo, Yeo, Benjamin Engel, Engel, Rhee Jong, " Rhee, Rhee, Hyunsu Yim, Josh Smith, Lincoln Organizations: South, ASEAN, South Korea Summit, Association of, Southeast Asian Nations, Rights, U.S, University of Sussex, Liberation, Democratic Party, Gallup, Brookings Institution, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, National Security, Seoul National University, Thomson Locations: South Korean, Jakarta, Indonesia, Rights SEOUL, South Korea, North Korea, Japan, Tokyo, Seoul