President Lee Dismisses Claim That Cabinet Members "Cannot Speak Because Meetings Are Public" as a "Lie"

President Lee Jae-myung dismissed as a "lie" the claim that Cabinet members cannot speak because Cabinet meetings are being made public, saying it was "hard to understand."

On X (formerly Twitter) that day, President Lee said, "I find it hard to understand why people are pressuring us not to make Cabinet meetings partially public, something the public welcomes, even going so far as to claim falsely that 'Cabinet members cannot speak because the meetings are public.'"

President Lee Jaemyung speaks at a Cabinet meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae on Oct. 6, 2026. Yonhap News

President Lee explained, "Not only Cabinet members but also agency chiefs and committee chairs who are not Cabinet members, and even local government heads, say everything they want to say. We deliberately expanded the number of attendees significantly to foster greater engagement on state affairs and hear a wider range of opinions. Closed-door sessions continue without exception at every Cabinet meeting."

He added, "I have always welcomed debate and especially respect those who express opposing views. I emphasize that a red team must function effectively within an organization to prevent problems and accidents."

Earlier, some media outlets reported that Cabinet members had expressed concern to Prime Minister Han Seong-sook about making Cabinet meetings public.

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