Lee Jae-myung rebuts criticism: 'My schedule is so grueling I get IV drips and nosebleeds'

President Lee Jae-myung pushed back on X on the afternoon of the 31st against opposition criticism of his frequent overseas trips, saying that 'to a pig, everything looks like a pig.' The criticism originated from the October 29 National Assembly audit of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's operation. Rep. Kim Seung-su of the People Power Party pointed out that "while people's livelihoods are collapsing, the President has already made 14 trips to 23 countries," adding that "the President has traveled abroad so much, and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung keeps tagging along."

On the afternoon of the 31st, President Lee reposted a supporter's message on X arguing that presidential trips should not be seen as mere tourism, saying that to someone who believes a president's overseas trips consist of snapping photos without preparation, taking credit, and enjoying drinking, shopping, and sightseeing, they might look different. He wrote, "Far from tourism, shopping, drinking and partying, even overseas trips involving intense advance preparation, long-haul flights, packed official schedules without a single day off, and such heavy workloads that I regularly receive IV injections and suffer nosebleeds can appear as if they were vacations." He added that journalists traveling with delegations, who experience it firsthand, know better than anyone the differences in schedules, workloads, and outcomes of overseas trips between current and former presidents.

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-rac told a press briefing with reporters at the presidential office that "steady summit diplomacy throughout the year is a given," noting that there had been multilateral occasions such as the G7, G20, APEC, and the UN General Assembly. "Summit diplomacy customarily involves the First Lady's accompaniment," he said, calling the criticism unfair.

The same day, President Lee posted on X under the title 'Weekend Trip,' visiting Yeongyang and Cheongsong in North Gyeongsang Province to inspect the implementation of the rural basic income pilot program. The rural basic income program provides residents of depopulating areas with 150,000 won per month in local love gift certificates, with pilot programs underway in 17 counties including Yeongyang and Cheongsong.