President Lee: "Claim That Ministers Can't Speak Because Meetings Are Public Is a Lie... Hard to Understand"

President Lee Jae-myung stated, "I find it difficult to understand the reason behind pressuring us not to disclose the Cabinet meetings—which the public widely welcomes—even going as far as to tell the lie that 'Cabinet members cannot speak freely because the meetings are open to the public.'"

President Lee made the remarks on Sunday on X (formerly Twitter) while sharing a YouTube video that refuted arguments opposing the live broadcast of Cabinet meetings.

The video introduced instances where President Lee immediately accepted counterarguments from Cabinet members during actual Cabinet meetings.

It was intended to refute claims that Cabinet members, including ministers, find it difficult to offer blunt criticism when conscious of the live broadcast.

"Anyone who has watched the public Cabinet meetings knows this fact," President Lee wrote. "Not only Cabinet members, but also agency heads and committee commissioners who are not Cabinet members, and even heads of local governments speak their minds fully."

He also explained, "We deliberately expanded the number of attendees significantly to broaden mutual understanding of state affairs and listen to diverse opinions."

He added, "Without exception, every Cabinet meeting is followed by a closed-door session," and "I always welcome debate and especially respect those who express opposing views, and I continue to emphasize that problems and accidents can be prevented only when the 'red team' role functions properly within an organization."

Earlier on October 16, President Lee also pushed back on X, writing, "I cannot agree with the argument from some quarters that all Cabinet meetings should be held behind closed doors," and expressing "deep regret over false claims that opening meetings to the public is silencing Cabinet members."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.