President Lee Jae-myung countered criticism from the opposition party that his overseas trips are too frequent, saying, "As the saying goes, the Buddha only sees Buddha and pigs only see pigs, and people only see as much as they know, so please understand."

Reposting a post by an internet user who wrote that a president's overseas trips are not mere tourism, President Lee wrote on his social media account, "From the perspective of those who think a presidential overseas trip is about leisurely drinking, shopping, and sightseeing while taking photos and showing off without any work or preparation, even an overseas trip—far from tourism, shopping, or partying—involving intensive advance preparations, long flights, a packed official schedule without taking even half a day off, and high work intensity leading to frequent IV drips and nosebleeds, may look like going on vacation."

He added, "The accompanying press corps, who experience it together, will know better the differences between the overseas travel schedules, work intensity, and the resulting diplomatic achievements of former and incumbent presidents."

National Security Advisor Wi Sung-lac addressed the opposition's criticism of President Lee's overseas trips during the parliamentary audit on October 29, refuting it yesterday (October 30) by saying, "It is not fair to raise issues claiming that there are particularly too many trips, or questioning why the first lady accompanies him."

Advisor Wi explained, "As our country's international standing has risen significantly, there are several multilateral occasions that our leader must attend throughout the year," adding, "Summit diplomacy customarily involves the first lady. First ladies also attend APEC, and there are programs for first ladies."

(Reported by Kim Hyeong-rae | Video by Na Hong-hee | Design by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News)