President Lee: "Reform Must Not Be a Tool for Attack, Will Steadfastly Pursue Pragmatic Reform"

"If a Noisy Process Only Hinders Achievements, It Should Not Be Tolerated"

President Lee Jaemyung pointed out on the 4th, "Reform should be a goal, not a means to highlight one's clarity, attract attention, or attack someone."

On this day, President Lee wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account, "Reform is for the people and the nation, not for someone's political achievements or applause," and made the above remarks. He also stated, "Reform should lead to tangible results that contribute to improving people's livelihoods and national development; the process should not be noisy just to attract attention, thereby hindering the achievement of results." He added, "We will unwaveringly pursue practical reforms that genuinely improve the lives of our citizens."

Yonhap News Agency

There are interpretations that President Lee's remarks were made with the hardliners' backlash within the ruling party against the nomination of Kim Jiyong as head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency in mind. President Lee has already approved the personnel hearing request for nominee Kim, stating that it is difficult to see him as a "pro-Yoon (pro Yoon Suk-yeol) prosecutor."

However, opposition from some within the ruling party continues. On the 3rd, Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae indirectly criticized the nomination by posting on Facebook that she "confesses her poor judgment in appointing Kim as a chief prosecutor during her tenure as justice minister." Assemblyman Kim Yongmin also expressed his opposition, arguing that nominee Kim "has consistently opposed prosecution reform."

Recently, President Lee has repeatedly expressed concerns about the competition for clarity in the reform process. At a meeting with Korean residents in Mexico City on September 24, President Lee said, "If reforms proceed too quickly, too far, or too aggressively, there will be backlash." He also emphasized, "Excessive assertions aimed at demonstrating one's own clarity may look impressive, but they are unlikely to deliver genuinely positive results," and "It is important to achieve practical and substantial outcomes while minimizing resistance and backlash."

Earlier, at a press conference on September 18, President Lee confessed, "What I was concerned about was that highlighting clarity during the reform process could provoke greater resistance, slowing the pace of reform or even leading to failure," adding, "I have focused on achieving results as quietly as possible while minimizing backlash."

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