President Lee Jae-myung stated regarding social reform efforts, "Making a lot of noise and being loud may look impressive, but doing so increases the intensity of resistance, making it difficult to achieve results."

During the cabinet meeting he presided over at the Blue House on this day (the 14th), President Lee said, "There seems to be a misunderstanding that the Lee Jae-myung administration is focusing too much on growth and the economy while neglecting reform or ignoring welfare," and made these remarks.

The remarks are particularly noteworthy as they come at a time when conflicts among supporters over reform issues, such as prosecution reform, have surfaced in connection with the upcoming party leadership race of the Democratic Party of Korea.

President Lee first emphasized that policy progress can eventually be made if the government has the will, stating, "Reform and welfare are things that can be done. This is a realm of government decision-making."

He also added, "We are continuing to expand welfare policies as much as necessary. We just need to keep moving forward steadily as we have planned."

In doing so, President Lee addressed the disagreements surrounding the specific methodology of reform.

"Reform is about breaking down vested interests and creating a new order, which inevitably brings resistance," President Lee said. "The intensity of the resistance is bound to be high, while the amount of applause following the results is bound to be small."

He continued, "That is why reform is difficult, and why it is important to follow procedures well. Persuasion regarding practicality is also necessary," and stressed, "There are some who think that practicality is the opposite of reform, but that is not true."

President Lee elaborated, "Will things go well if we raise our voices, speak harshly, and point fingers?" adding, "It might feel good, but it is difficult for the results to be good."

In this process, President Lee compared reform work to receiving an injection.

President Lee recalled, "This is a story I can tell now that the statute of limitations has passed, but I have had an experience like this. Late at night, I had a skin breakout, and all the hospitals were closed. A senior I knew was a pharmacist, and he offered to give me an injection."

He then explained that when the syringe was about to pierce his skin, he was scared and tensed up, causing the needle to break, and that the right way in such a case is to gently soothe the patient before administering the injection.

"I think reform is similar," President Lee said. "We must go through a process of persuading, minimizing pain, gaining public consensus on legitimacy, and proceeding sequentially and effectively so that people eventually realize, 'Oh, things have changed.'"

(Photo: Yonhap News)