President Lee Jae Myung on calls to abolish National Security Act: 'Move too fast and you invite a backlash'

Speaking at a dinner meeting with fellow Koreans during his state visit to Mexico on Wednesday (local time), President Lee Jae Myung referenced the debate over repealing the National Security Act under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, saying, "If you move too fast, you meet with a backlash." During the Roh administration, bipartisan agreement had nearly been reached to amend the National Security Act by deleting its toxic provisions, but when calls emerged for its outright abolition, even the amendment collapsed — and Lee pointed out that those provisions remain in place to this day. The day before, Cheong Wa Dae had expressed regret over writer Yoo Si-min's remarks on prosecutorial reform, saying they "distort the president's will for prosecutorial reform in a way contrary to the facts." Lee's comments on this day were interpreted as targeting Yoo, who has advocated abolishing the National Security Act.

"Similar situations arise even now. People make excessive claims in order to display their own clarity," he said, adding, "It may look impressive, but it is not easy to actually produce good results." He stressed, "We must minimize resistance and opposition as much as possible and achieve effective, practical, substantive results."

Lee also spoke of the difficulty of reform. "There are people who benefit from the current system. They are few in number but powerful," he explained, describing a structure in which opposition voices are bound to be loud. As an example, he noted that people who profit from real estate speculation recruit sympathizers among ordinary, decent people by telling them, "You, too, could become a victim." "The world does not change easily, and bad situations keep piling up," he said. "That is why we must prepare thoroughly and persuade well."