SEOUL - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol conceded on Thursday that his ruling party's crushing election defeat last month reflected the government's failure to improve people's lives, and apologized for a scandal involving his wife.

He continued to reject calls by opposition lawmakers for a special probe into allegations that the First Lady had inappropriately accepted a pricey Christian Dior handbag as a gift last year, even as prosecutors begin investigating whether she broke any laws.

In his first press conference in 21 months, Yoon pledged instead to focus on improving the economy and tackling what he called the national emergency of flagging birth rates over the three years he has left in office.

Yoon's People Power Party suffered a heavy loss in an April 10 vote, which prompted calls for a change in his leadership style and policy direction to salvage a presidency not yet at the halfway mark

"I think the important thing going forward is indeed the economy," he said.

"Corporate growth and job creation are important too but what I think is more important is to try harder to look for what is inconvenient in the life of each and every person and to resolve them."

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South Korea's economy beat most forecasts to grow 1.3 percent in the first three months of this year, though living costs have remained stubbornly high despite some progress in tackling inflation.

In a new policy push, a government ministry will be set up to tackle the record low birth rate and fast-ageing population, Yoon said in opening remarks from his office, behind a plaque reading "The Buck Stops Here."

"This is not a matter we can take time to work on," he said.

South Korea's fertility rate, already the world's lowest, maintained its dramatic decline in 2023, as women cited concerns about bearing most of the burden for raising children, lost career opportunities, and the financial cost of raising children as reasons to delay childbirth or to not have babies.

Yoon's People Power Party suffered a heavy loss in an April 10 vote, which prompted calls for a change in his leadership style and policy direction to salvage a presidency not yet at the halfway mark.

"I think it reflects the public's evaluation that my administration's work is far short of what is needed," Yoon said when asked about his party's election defeat.

Political controversies

His comments included the first explicit apology for the controversy surrounding his wife. The issue is likely to weigh heavily on his attempts to win cooperation from the opposition-controlled parliament on policy priorities.

Yoon, who won the presidency in 2022 by a margin of less than one percentage point, has seen his support ratings plunge to a low of 21 percent in one public opinion poll.

READ MORE: Embattled Yoon sees approval rating plummet to record low

Lawmaker Park Chan-dae, new floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, called Yoon's press conference and address "bitterly disappointing".

He said it reaffirmed that the president had "neither the heart nor the will to protect the lives of the people".

Kim Hyung-joon, a professor at Pai Chai University in the capital, said Yoon's comments suggest he may focus on more bipartisan issues such as spurring the birthrate, rather than sweeping changes to his agenda.

"He didn’t seem to have a sense of urgency even after such a crushing election defeat - no new policy initiative, or hardly any sign of drastic change in his way of doing things," he said.