Leadership of President Lee Jae Myung again in crisis…“Must break away from a leave-no-detail-untouched style of governance” - 경향신문

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President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a senior secretaries meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae on the 15th. Cheong Wa Dae Press Corps

With the 16th marking his 500th day in office, the leadership of President Lee Jae Myung has again come under scrutiny. Under orders from the president, the government has more frequently rolled out half-baked policies without sufficient review, only to retract them, and frequent communication by the president on social media has highlighted infighting within the ruling camp. On personnel matters, some in the ruling party who had expected a Chief of Staff to the President with political arbitration skills and heft express disappointment. Inside and outside the ruling party, there are criticisms that “the president should break away from a leave-no-detail-untouched style of governance.”

According to accounts from ruling-camp figures on the 15th, a dozen or so ministers on the 2nd asked Prime Minister Han Sung-sook to convey to President Lee the view that “it would be desirable to narrow the scope of the live broadcast of Cabinet meetings.” Within the ruling camp, it is pointed out that during the live broadcast, ministers find it hard to speak candidly to the president. One minister said in a phone call, “There are advantages to the reality that live broadcasts of Cabinet meetings provide, so it is right to mix live broadcasts and closed-door sessions appropriately.”

Presidential directives issued without prior coordination have also increasingly run into pushback and been revised. At a Cabinet meeting in July, President Lee instructed that the enforcement rules of the Yellow Envelope Act (revised Labor Union Act) be amended to exclude a performance bonus equal to N% of operating profit from the scope of labor disputes, but after controversy over ‘enforcement rules above the law,’ it was decided to supplement the matter through administrative guidelines. As for the comprehensive survey of farmland ordered at the Cabinet meeting in February, as backlash from farmers grew, the party and government last month introduced supplementary measures deferring the obligation period for disposal of fallow land held by the elderly and inherited farmland.

In December last year, during a Ministry of Health and Welfare briefing, President Lee said, “Hair loss is nowadays a matter of survival,” and ordered a review of applying health insurance coverage to hair-loss treatments, but the policy was put on hold in the face of backlash from civic groups saying that “treating serious illnesses should come first.” A plan to lower the age for juvenile protection under the law (14세→13세) derived through public deliberation was overturned after President Lee commented, “is it not too weak?” and was sent back for fundamental reconsideration.

A Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker from the Seoul metropolitan area said, “The reason various problems have surfaced over the past year and a half in governing is that the president is fixated on early results,” and added, “Problems have arisen because the president issues micromanaging, nitpicking directives and takes credit for outcomes while not engaging in deliberation.” The lawmaker said, “President Lee should delegate authority to each ministry head so that achievements can be produced by the ministries.”

There is also considerable concern surrounding the president and social media. Within the ruling party, voices have emerged that the president should refrain from using social media. It is argued that giving instructions impulsively via social media, or making remarks that appear to target internal strife in the ruling camp, can pose risks.

A senior Democratic Party lawmaker said, “Because the president is the final arbiter, social media use should be reduced,” and added, “If the president reveals his thoughts on social media first, everyone else has no choice but to follow. With the comprehensive farmland survey as well, did problems not arise because, after the president said ‘are they speculating even in farmland,’ it proceeded without proper preparation?” Former People Power Party emergency committee chair Kim Jong-in said on CBS Radio that day, “If the president too often expresses personal emotions through social media, it creates a problem of a backlash (among the public).”

There are also voices pointing to a lack of politics in appointments and relations with the National Assembly. Regarding the surprise pick of Chief of Staff to the President Im Gwang-hyeon, a former National Tax Service commissioner, assessments within the ruling party were that it was not the heavyweight political appointment initially expected. A Democratic Party official said, “Rather than someone who would offer frank advice to the president, a practical figure who would read well what the president wants was chosen,” adding, “There needs to be a channel for close communication between the party and Cheong Wa Dae.”

Support for President Lee Jae Myung in job performance remains stagnant. In the National Barometer Survey (NBS) conducted by Embrain Public, KSTAT Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research on the 12∼13 among 1,000 voters, the positive rating was 44% and the negative rating was 49%. Compared with the previous poll two weeks earlier, the positive rating rose by 1 percentage point and the negative rating fell by 1 percentage point. The survey was conducted via mobile phone interviews, with a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level and a response rate of 16.8%. For details, refer to the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.