Lee: "You Lose If You Raise Your Head in Golf or Elections," "Let's Hold Another Press Conference"... 167-Minute Marathon Session

President Lee Holds First Anniversary Press Conference
When Asked About Losing the Seoul Mayoral Race
"Said I Should Stay Neutral, But Couldn't Hide My Feelings"

President Lee Jae-myung continued the Q&A session for a total of 167 minutes at the first anniversary press conference on June 8, far exceeding the originally scheduled 100 minutes.

This was President Lee's fourth press conference, following those held on his 30th and 100th days in office and at the New Year. At the Blue House State Guest House, President Lee took questions from 21 media outlets. Four foreign news agencies and two university student panelists were also given the opportunity to ask questions.

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking about citation reporting after receiving questions related to the media at the press conference on the first anniversary of his inauguration held at the Blue House State Guest House on June 8, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

During the Q&A, there were moments when both reporters and aides were seen laughing at the president's remarks.

When asked about the outcome of the June 3 local elections, President Lee said, "If you say you lost where you had to win, at the very least, it cannot be called a success," and, with a smile, added, "You’re supposed to remain neutral during elections, but I found it hard to keep a neutral expression."

President Lee went on to quote Park Ji-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, saying, "If you lift your head in golf or in an election, you lose," and confessed, "For two or three days after the election, I wasn’t in the best condition either."

Explaining the background behind nominating Han Sung-sook as candidate for Prime Minister, he said, "She works so diligently and does such a good job that public officials at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups say it's tough for them," adding, "I want other public officials to experience that kind of challenge too," which drew laughter from the audience.

When a reporter introduced themselves as being from the Maeil Shinmun, President Lee joked, "Ah, of all places, why did I pick that one?" Maeil Shinmun is a local daily in the Daegu and North Gyeongsang region, and the reporter asked about the relocation of public institutions.

President Lee Jae-myung is greeting attendees after concluding his first-year inauguration press conference at the Blue House State Guest House on June 8, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

When questions from student reporters attending the press conference were posed, President Lee laughed and commented, "The questions are getting more and more difficult." When Seonim Reporter Jungbo Yeon from Ewha Womans University Newspaper asked about the inconvenience and income gap experienced by young people who have moved to Seoul, President Lee replied, "You’ve combined the issues of balanced regional development and youth. That’s quite a challenging question."

President Lee also commented on the Samsung Electronics labor union's demand for a portion of operating profit as bonuses, asking, "Isn't that rather audacious?"

Meanwhile, after receiving the final question, President Lee turned to Kang Yu-jeong, Chief Spokesperson at the Blue House, and said, "I spoke for too long. Let’s have a separate session next time," and added, "Let’s hold press conferences more often."

He then remarked, "I want to do them, but people try to stop me. They're worried something might happen," which drew laughter from those in attendance.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.