DAEGU -- Yu In-chon, the minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said Friday that he believes the martial law declaration chaos will have limited negative impact on Korean culture's popularity among the globe, as he resumed his activities just two days after the president's fiasco.

“There may be some short-term shocks, but I don't believe this will lead to any long-term damage. Some countries have issued travel advisories, likely out of concern that the situation might escalate. However, since the issue was resolved within just six hours, we can consider the situation essentially over. It’s now important to move swiftly toward stabilizing and organizing things. While there might be temporary disruptions caused by the initial shock, I don't think there will be any significant long-term impact,” he said.

Yu said he had not been called in for a Cabinet meeting right before President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday night and had been very shocked by the declaration. He did participate in the meeting held to lift the martial law decree early Wednesday morning though.

On Friday morning at Daegu National Museum’s 30th anniversary event, the two-time culture minister sat among the guests and delivered congratulatory remarks. It came across as a surprise because this event, along with his attendance at a groundbreaking ceremony for rental housing dedicated to young artists in the city had been canceled on Wednesday hours after Yoon declared martial law.

"This event was something I'd promised to attend long ago, and it is an important task. So, regardless of what happens, I thought it was necessary to fulfill my role from where I stand as long as I could. Events like these local projects can significantly change depending on whether we show up or not. That’s why I decided it would be better to come to Daegu and carry out my role, at least for as long as I can,” he said during a brief interview with The Korea Herald on the sidelines of the event at Daegu National Museum.

"The role of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is ultimately to soothe and provide reassurance to those feeling unsettled or anxious,” he added.

Yu, 73, served as the Lee Myung-bak administration's first culture minister from 2008 to 2011, overseeing the opening of the Seoul Branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and the construction of the National Museum of Korean History, as well as the restructuring of the system for supporting culture and the arts. The former actor returned to the role of culture minister in October last year.