President Lee: "Change Government Publicity, Too; Don't List Achievements Like Department Store Items - Select and Focus"

Choi Hwiyeong, Culture Minister, Urged to Adopt "Contemporary Methods of Communication"
Orders Overhaul of Government Publicity Across the Board
Sung Gihong: "President's Social Media Posts Reflect Discussions with Aides"
Interactive Briefings to

President Lee Jaemyung on Oct. 20 called for a sweeping overhaul of how the government promotes its achievements. He called for moving away from conventional publicity practices, selecting key accomplishments, and adopting new ways of communicating that resonate with the public. Amid ongoing controversy over the president’s frequent social media activity and live broadcasts of Cabinet meetings, the Blue House plans to maintain the president’s direct communication approach while also improving the government’s overall publicity system.

President Lee Jaemyung speaks at a Cabinet meeting at the Blue House on Oct. 20, 2026. Yonhap News Agency.

Kang Yoo-jung, the Blue House senior spokesperson, said in a written briefing on the results of the 45th Cabinet meeting that the president had asked Choi Hwi-young, minister of culture, sports and tourism, to implement three improvements to the government’s publicity approach during a closed-door meeting. Lee said, “Move away from the old way of promoting the government’s achievements and adopt influential, contemporary ways of communicating.” He added, “There are so many government achievements that we should not list them like items in a department store; we need to select and focus on the most important ones.”

Lee also said, “Promoting the government’s achievements is a very important foundation for persuading the public and securing its support,” and called for improvements to government publicity overall. His remarks were seen as reflecting the view that effective communication of government achievements to the public, rather than simply formulating policies and delivering results, is an important task of governing.

Meanwhile, Sung Ki-hong, the Blue House senior secretary for public relations and communication, appeared on SBS’s “Joo Young-jin’s News Briefing” that day to explain the Blue House’s position on direct communication methods, including the president’s social media activity and live broadcasts of Cabinet meetings. Responding to calls for aides to review and coordinate the president’s social media posts in advance, Sung said, “Most of the posts the president writes himself generally reflect the thoughts and discussions he has with his aides in closed-door meetings on a daily basis.”

He added, “Could a post really just suddenly appear like that, completely at odds with the aides’ views?” He countered, “I think people are saying this without understanding the culture of communication and discussion between the president and his aides inside the Blue House.” Regarding the president’s social media activity that continues into the early morning, he said, “Making an issue of the fact that he posted on social media at 1 or 2 a.m. misses the point,” adding, “Please focus on the essence of direct communication with the public, rather than the medium of social media itself.”

He made clear that the government would continue live broadcasts of Cabinet meetings and interactive briefings. Sung said that since live broadcasts of Cabinet meetings began in July 2025, the scope of what is made public and the way the meetings are run have improved considerably, adding, “There are also very active discussions during closed-door meetings.”

On expanding interactive briefings by government ministries, he said, “Exchanges between reporters and officials should not take place behind closed doors; they need to be made more accessible to the public,” adding, “Each ministry can build its own system in line with its circumstances.” He also addressed concerns that reporters asking critical questions during live-streamed briefings could become targets of attacks by the president’s supporters. “Those concerns have in fact proved unfounded,” he said, describing the interactive briefing system as firmly established.

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