President Lee Jae Myung takes questions from reporters during a press conference at the Blue House to mark his first year in office on June 8, 2026. (pool photo)
Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Monday described the results of last week’s local elections as “a warning from the nation” and “certainly not a success.”Lee also said that a shortfall of ballots in some Seoul voting precincts had “wrecked in a single moment everything Korea had done to present itself as a model democracy.” The president also offered high praise to young Koreans who were attending demonstrations about the issue.Lee discussed the outcome of the local elections in a press conference marking the first anniversary of his inauguration as president at the Blue House’s reception hall on Monday. “That something so completely unacceptable could happen should also be taken as a warning from the nation for my administration,” he said.The Democratic Party prevailed in 12 of 16 provincial and metropolitan elections, but failed to flip the coveted Seoul mayorship.“It’s given us a lot to mull over. It was certainly not a success. It’s a useful reminder that we politicians are supposed to fear the people,” he said.But Lee has no intention of altering his basic approach to governance. His four main goals for governance in his second year in office are building Korea into (1) a “super-gap” industrial powerhouse and (2) a diplomatic and national security power, (3) establishing a society of norms, and (4) empowering a government that saves lives.“The fact is that this was truly ridiculous and pathetic,” Lee said of the ballot shortage at certain polling stations.“I’ve also been taking to heart young people’s assertion that this was a fundamental issue with the exercise of sovereignty in our democratic republic,” he said.Young Koreans outraged over the ballot shortage have been demonstrating at the handball arena at Olympic Park in Seoul’s Songpa District, which served as the polling station for Jamsil-7 neighborhood.“I feel like the young people bringing attention to this issue are to be treasured and admired. I’ve been reflecting on the fact that perhaps I wasn’t sensitive enough to issues of sovereignty,” Lee added.Another issue that Lee discussed during the press conference was a bill that would appoint a special counsel to review a series of allegedly fabricated investigations and indictments carried out under Lee’s predecessor Yoon Suk-yeol. In its current form, the bill would empower the special counsel to withdraw indictments, including those against Lee himself.“All we need to do is follow the law and use common sense. If there was wrongdoing, [the indictment] can be withdrawn; if not, it stays,” Lee said.Another thorny question that Lee tackled in the press conference is whether prosecutors will be allowed to carry out supplementary investigations after being reassigned to the indictment agency that will be established after the current prosecution service is wound down.“Prosecutors are the subject of too much distrust. There’s also some validity to concerns that prosecutors might abuse [supplementary investigative authority]. I think we’ve decided to pass [the debate about the Criminal Procedure Act] to the National Assembly,” he said.This more skeptical view was a shift from Lee’s comments during his New Year’s press conference, when the president had said there were “exceptional cases” in which prosecutors would need to carry out supplementary investigations. The Korean president also said an overhaul to the real estate tax system would be announced in July.“Property tax in this country tends to be low. We’ll be fundamentally lowering the expected profit margins on real estate,” he said.Lee also remarked that the rising price of “key money” due to a lack of properties on the market is “part of the normalization process.”Key money refers to a uniquely Korean rental practice in which a refundable lump sum is paid in lieu of monthly rent.By Seo Young-ji, staff reporterPlease direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
