Press Conference Opens with "Apologies to the People"… "Listening" vs. "Only Blaming Others"

[Anchor]

The presidential press conference today (September 18) began with words of "apologies to the public." The atmosphere remained heavy and subdued throughout the 100 minutes. The Democratic Party stated that "the party will also listen to public sentiment," while the People Power Party criticized that the president "only blamed others."

Reporter Kim Bo-mi reports.

[Reporter]

In a subdued voice, President Lee Jae-myung opened the press conference with this greeting.

[President Lee Jae-myung: "I greet the public with an apologetic heart as you navigate difficult daily lives."]

He said that while he was flustered by the public's disappointment and concern following the June 3 local elections, this was the conclusion reached after much contemplation.

[President Lee Jae-myung: "The conclusion of my reflection is always that 'the people are right.' It is all due to my shortcomings."]

Since taking office, the previous six press conferences usually began with an opening statement of about 10 minutes followed by a Q&A session, easily surpassing two hours. Today, however, the opening statement emphasizing "shortcomings" and a "humble posture" lasted 20 minutes—longer than before—while the entire conference was somewhat shorter at 1 hour and 40 minutes.

President Lee continued answering questions with a heavy and calm expression, with jokes or smiling noticeably reduced.

The Democratic Party assessed that "it was an occasion where the president candidly expressed his thoughts with a humble attitude," adding that controversies over a "constitutional amendment for consecutive terms" and "dropping indictments" have been put to rest.

[Kim Min-seok / Democratic Party Leader: "The party will also listen more humbly and take care of the public's livelihoods."]

The People Power Party lashed out, calling it "a press conference that only blamed others without reflection and merely appeased his base," and asserting that his remarks on "consecutive terms" and "dropping indictments," driven by falling approval ratings, cannot be trusted.

[Jang Dong-hyeok / People Power Party Leader: "The only answer the people want is just one: that he will stand trial with confidence, that is it."]

Unlike Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won and Defense Minister nominee Kang Shin-chul, whose confirmation hearing reports were adopted under the lead of the Democratic Party, discussions on adopting reports for Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister nominee Hong Ji-seon and SMEs and Startups Minister nominee Lee So-young have been suspended because the chairs of the relevant parliamentary standing committees belong to the People Power Party.

The People Power Party stated that it would finalize its stance depending on whether President Lee pushes ahead with appointing nominee Kim Seung-won.

(Video by Oh Young-choon, Lee Seung-hwan, Shin Dong-hwan, Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by Lee Seung-jin)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.