President Lee Jae-myung said the biggest obstacle to reform is obstructing reform in the name of reform. The remarks are read as an effort to stress that his commitment to reform remains firm, at a time when his approval rating has fallen below 40%, while also taking aim at hardliners in the broader ruling bloc who accuse him of retreating from reform.
Lee shared a post on X, formerly Twitter, on the 12th written by Park Tae-hoon, head of the Youth Today Institute, who argued that the president's reform drive must be carried through to success. "There is not a single thing wrong in what he says," Lee wrote. Park, a former deputy spokesperson for the Progressive Party, wrote that words that shake things from within hurt more than enemies on the outside, citing writer Rhyu Si-min's remark about the stench of a rotting fish market.
Lee went on to say, "I have never abandoned the goals and values of reform for a single moment," while emphasizing the method and pace of reform. "Reform must be meticulous and procedural, carried out with the broadest possible consensus, and it must prove itself through effective results by minimizing pain and resistance," he said.
He stressed in particular that "we must also be vigilant against obstructing reform and provoking a backlash by exploiting the sincere yearning of some for revolutionary change and, through radical agitation aimed at displaying one's own ideological purity, inviting resistance and a counter-rally." The point is that radical claims made in the name of reform and competition over ideological purity may end up blocking reform itself.
He also addressed principles on appointments, saying public office must serve everyone. "Appointing people simply because they are close, even if they are corrupt and incompetent, is a shortcut to failure and the attitude of a conqueror rather than a representative," Lee said.
Lee's remarks are read as reflecting criticism from parts of the progressive camp that reform is being rolled back, following a revision to the organizational structure of the Public Prosecution Office and the nomination of a former prosecutor as the first head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency.
Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae leveled direct criticism at the president the same day. "If someone who was in the same boat as Han Dong-hoon becomes the first head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, is that democratization?" Choo said. "The insurrection forces must be punished, so why the hand-wringing?"
Against that backdrop, Lee's repeated emphasis on the need to guard against radical agitation carried out under the banner of reform tasks is being read as an indirect rebuttal of the charge that he is retreating from reform.
The People Power Party criticized Lee's remarks head-on. Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk wrote on Facebook that branding people who own homes as "devils" is itself radical agitation. "Words one way, actions another — the public's patience is running out," he wrote.
