Spat over president's social media activities intensifies

The spat over President Lee Jae Myung’s social media activities continues, intensifying over the weekend with the president defending against criticisms as well as using online platforms to go on the offensive.

On Saturday, Lee again took to X to refute criticisms about his activities, specifically against his overseas trips, which critics have attacked for lacking substance while incurring unnecessary spending.

In the post, Lee said that the trips have “a high work intensity where intravenous therapy is often needed to cure nosebleeds."

Lee also claimed on X that the differing work intensity between his trips and those of former presidents resulted in different trip outcomes.

"As the saying goes, 'A Buddha's eyes see only Buddhas, and a pig's eyes see only pigs.' People only see as much as they know," Lee wrote.

Lee’s post was quickly met with additional criticism from the opposition.

Rep. Jeong Jeom-sig, floor leader of the main opposition People Power Party, said on his Facebook Sunday that Saturday's X post "goes beyond mere emotional venting."

"It is time to stop blaming previous administrations or making constant comparisons," Jeong wrote.

Jeong claimed that diplomatic tensions had worsened despite Lee's frequent presidential trips, citing recent cases, including one where ruling Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers experienced delays in obtaining US visas and another involving discord with Kyiv stemming from the transfer of North Korean prisoners-of-war.

"The public would not raise suspicions about the presidential couple's foreign visits if our diplomacy were on the right track, regardless of how frequent his overseas trips are. But is our diplomacy truly on the right track?" Jeong said.

Rep. Choi Bo-yun of the main opposition People Power Party pointed to the increase in the budget allocation for presidential overseas trips for 2027 to 65.32 billion won ($49 million), up more than twofold from this year's budget.

"Overseas trips that were dismissed as a waste of taxpayer money when the party was the opposition are now being framed as a heroic effort," Choi said in a statement Sunday.

The ruling Democratic Party hit back, accusing critics of “crossing the line.”

Democratic Party Rep. Lee Yong-woo said in a statement Sunday that Lee's diplomatic activities did not deserve the criticism.

The lawmaker highlighted former right-wing President Yoon Suk Yeol’s hot mic incident, his failed bid to host Expo 2030 and Yoon's wife's visit to a luxury goods shop during a presidential trip to Lithuania in July 2023.

"In contrast, the Lee Jae Myung administration is rapidly recovering from its decline," the lawmaker said.

The partisan conflict followed a heated exchange between the opposition party chair and the Lee administration.

Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok, chair of the People Power Party, criticized Lee on Saturday in response to his X post for taking selfies with actor Jeon Do-yeon during his visit to the Lumiere Summit in France in September; for attending a K-pop concert of Stray Kids in Mexico; and for engaging in a joint drum performance with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during their bilateral summit in January.

In response, Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young on his X accused Jang of having "a negative perception of the value and achievements of ‘K-Culture’ that we have painstakingly built."

The Foreign Ministry also noted Saturday that it is undesirable to "downplay the significance of Lee's summit diplomacy by focusing solely on moments of socializing or cultural exchange," while ignoring the outcomes of Lee's diplomacy.

Controversy also continues over Lee’s earlier social media posts addressing "preferential" treatment for multicultural families and their admission to state-run postpartum care centers.

In response, one lawmaker, independent Rep. Han Dong-hoon, said on his Facebook that, although the president was right, posting the matter on social media without adequate government review of the matter "appears to be a calculated move to gain political advantage through divisive measures, while making South Korea look like a nation where the government directly expresses hostility toward foreigners."

Another debate centers on Lee's comments on the housing market Saturday, when he quoted an X post on government strategies to cool housing prices in the affluent Gangnam neighborhood.

Lee wrote he was "on a tough road toward normalizing the asset market," adding that people will ultimately realize the government's efforts "once the time of patience passes."

This was met with criticism by People Power Party spokesperson Cho Yong-sool, who said that Lee's X comments neglect the fact that Seoul's housing prices rose for 90 consecutive weeks after his housing policies were in place.

"Having given the public the false hope that housing prices would stabilize, (Lee) should at least feel ashamed and stop commenting (on X)," Cho wrote.