Behind President Lee's Direct Communication: The Ruling Party's Silence
Jung Sung-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea said on SBS's "Jung Young-jin's News Briefing" on the 28th that President Lee Jae-myung would be better off using social media less frequently. Jung noted, "With such a wide range of public opinions, it won't be easy for the president to win support of more than 50% whenever he voices his views directly," adding, "It wouldn't be bad to scale it back a little." He traced the background of the president's emphasis on direct communication — calling social media his "lifeline" and his "breathing space with the people" — to the ruling party itself. "Ruling party lawmakers should actively speak up on the president's policy agenda, and government ministers who understand the president well should also raise their voices," he analyzed, saying, "Legislation on the policy agenda isn't moving at pace, and communication with the public is falling short, so the president seems to be stepping in personally."
The same day, Gangwon Governor Woo Sang-ho appeared on the same program to weigh in on the issue. He advised that on politically sensitive matters, "the president should have his aides review things first." However, he added, "The public prefers it when the president delivers his own thoughts directly," urging people not to view it only negatively but to understand it as a "new routine."
On the parliamentary investigation into Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, which the Democratic Party has decided to pursue, Jung Sung-ho urged caution. "The cause of all these problems lies with Chief Justice Cho himself," he pointed out. "He has made the authority of the judiciary and the political neutrality and independence of court rulings a subject of serious doubt, and if his own neutrality is in question, he should have decided his course of action." On the investigation itself, however, he said, "Past parliamentary probes have mostly ended anticlimactically," adding, "Since it won't be easy, it should be approached with greater care."
Concerns were also raised about the side effects of abolishing prosecutors' supplementary investigative powers. Jung, who had voiced concerns over amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act during his tenure as justice minister, said, "Because the amendment coincided with the Democratic Party's national convention, it became a political issue rather than a prosecutorial reform for the public, and there was insufficient deliberation." "What matters is that the rights of crime victims must be fundamentally guaranteed," he said, adding, "I hope the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee quickly identifies the problems and takes action."
