12 Posts a Day, 116 in a Month: Why Is President Lee Hooked on Social Media?

On October 5, the final day of the National Foundation Day holiday, President Lee Jae-myung posted a total of 12 messages on his account on the social media platform X.

The topics were wide-ranging, from policy promotional posts such as "thorough recovery of pro-Japanese assets" and "secrets to maintaining the world's lowest oil prices," to posts on prosecution reform, stating "Prosecution reform is not meant to build a political legacy for any specific individual," as well as messages on stabilizing the real estate market.

Among the 12 posts made on October 5, policy promotion messages accounted for the largest share at five, followed by four real estate-related posts and three regarding prosecution reform.

While President Lee is well known for frequently using social media, his activity appears to have surged significantly since September, when a decline in his approval ratings became apparent.

The number of X posts personally written by President Lee surged more than threefold from 37 throughout August to 116 in September, and as of 6:00 p.m. on October 6, he had already posted 38 times this month alone.

In early October alone, this translates to an average of six posts per day.

As President Lee himself stated that "SNS is a direct channel of communication between the public and me," this is seen as an attempt to confront crises such as falling approval ratings head-on by promoting policies and addressing pending issues through direct communication with the public.

A Cheong Wa Dae official also mentioned that President Lee was inspired by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum's direct communication with citizens and high approval ratings when he met her during his state visit to Mexico in September.

However, concerns over the president's direct communication linger in some quarters.

Critics point out that it could reinforce an image of micromanagement, where the president intervenes in every single matter, and that recent posts using expressions popular in pro-government online communities, such as "jwa-ah-hage," could foster the perception that he is catering only to his base rather than the entire nation.

In April, President Lee indirectly criticized Israel by sharing a video on social media alleging that Israeli forces tortured and killed a child and abandoned the body, which sparked diplomatic controversy after the facts turned out to be inaccurate.

Furthermore, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday early this year, President Lee released a flurry of real estate-related messages, but public sentiment on housing only worsened.

Observers also note that despite the intention of communicating directly with the public, unrefined social media messages can become a burden on state administration, highlighting the need for restraint and careful standards.

Reported by Kang Cheongwan | Video by Lee Seung-jin | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.