Since taking office as South Korean president, Lee Jae-myung has frequently posted messages on social media, covering a wide range of topics. These posts have attracted extensive coverage by South Korean media, and many of his statements have also drawn attention from the international community.
Especially in the context of a significant decline in support ratings recently, Lee Jae-myung's activity on social media has increased further, and doubts and criticism from the outside world have also grown.
Regarding this, Lee Jae-myung cited the case of former President Roh Moo-san, insisting that he will continue to use social media to communicate with the people. In response, the Blue House explained that 'the era when the president's thoughts were conveyed, interpreted, and packaged by others is over.'
Lee Jae-myung's "X politics" reminds people of US President Trump, who is famous for implementing "Twitter governance". However, the extremes of their rhetoric and the styles of their speeches are very different. In contrast to Lee Jae-myung, Park Geun-hye, who enjoys the "fatherlight" and always practices mysticism, saw the "7-hour mystery of the Seoyeo호's disappearance" as an important factor in her impeachment and removal from office.
Using social media frequently does indeed help to build a closer relationship with the public. However, excessive use of these platforms can lead to mistakes. Many of Lee Jae-myung’s posts lack consistency in addressing the concerns of all parties involved, thus continuously creating opportunities for the opposition to launch attacks.
There is a growing demand for him to be restrained and speak carefully. Recently, there were even reports that a minister at the prime minister’s residence suggested that Lee Jae-myung should exercise restraint and not “use social media frequently day and night.”
Lee Jae-ming – Profile photo. Visual China
According to the Korean newspaper 'Chungang Daily', as of May 5th, since Lee Jae-myeong took office as president, he has personally posted over 960 posts on the X platform. During the same period, there were also 12 national tour meetings with citizens, 7 press conferences and briefings, as well as 47 live broadcasts of state affairs.
According to SBS news reports, the number of X posts written by Lee Jae-myung has increased significantly, rising from 37 in August to 116 in September. During this period, a decline in Lee Jae-myung's popularity became apparent.
Lee Jae-ming himself once said, "Social media is the channel through which I communicate directly with the people." Some believe that he is trying to address crises such as declining support ratings by communicating directly with the people, promoting policies, and responding to issues that need to be resolved.
On the 15th of this month, Lee Jae-myung posted five posts, covering various topics including the controversy over imported eggs from Brazil, the reduction in disaster-related deaths, refuting conspiracy theories regarding constitutional reforms, and meeting with American guests.
On the 16th, Lee Jae-myung posted four more posts, one of which responded to Korean media reports suggesting that ministers recommended reducing the scope of live broadcasts of state council meetings.
Previously, the Hankook Daily reported that more than ten ministers had requested Prime Minister Han Seong-sook to convey the opinion of ‘appropriately reducing the broadcast scope of the State Council meeting’ to Lee Jae-myung. Several ministers argued that broadcasting the State Council meeting under the pretext of ‘direct communication with the people’ made it difficult for the president and state councilors to have lively discussions.
Also, the minister expressed the hope that Lee Jae-myung would exercise restraint and not 'use social media frequently day and night'. 'The more messages one posts on social media, the greater the chance of leaving clues or being criticized.'
Reports quoted a South Korean expert professor as saying, "State Councilors may have to focus on submitting reports that are not easily prone to errors, rather than developing policies that are substantial. Regarding matters under public scrutiny, it is important to increase transparency, but showing all policy discussions without any reservations is not the only correct approach."
Li refuted in his Weibo post on the 16th that the reports were not accurate and "seemingly untrue."
According to Lee Jae-myung, after the public meeting, a private meeting will be held next. Therefore, things that are not appropriate to say during the public meeting can be discussed during the private meeting. “If some things are difficult to say even during the private meeting, I will encourage everyone to call me or send me messages privately.”
In this lengthy post, Lee Jae-ming also said: "True friends are those who are open and honest, and who point out problems. If a friend clearly sees that their friend is on the wrong path, yet refuses to speak up to warn them, then that isn’t doing what’s best for the friend, but rather for oneself."
Li Zaiming's analogy is also quite interesting: 'Just as intermediaries do not want producers and consumers to trade directly, many people also do not want citizens to communicate directly with elected public officials. I fully understand this.'
"But if someone were to stop direct trading in order to ensure the profit from the circulation link, I find it hard to agree with." This is Li Zai Ming's latest explanation on his high-profile governing style.
Although Lee Jae-myung's response is logically coherent and his words are interesting, this lengthy response itself highlights that his "X politics" is facing stronger public criticism.
