President Lee defends live broadcasts of government meetings — Korea Herald

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said he would not agree to completely close government meetings to the public and rejected claims that their live broadcasts prevent ministers from speaking freely. He wrote this on social media platform X, Korea Herald reports.

Lee stressed that part of the meetings had been opened to citizens, to whom sovereignty belongs. According to him, broadcasts do not prevent cabinet members from objecting to the president or expressing disagreement, while the rules were changed to bring more views and counterarguments into discussions.

Reports of ministers' concerns

The president's statement came after a Hankook Ilbo report saying that about ten ministers had asked Prime Minister Han Seong-suk to persuade Lee to reduce the volume of live broadcasts. According to the newspaper, they feared that publicly disagreeing with the president could put him in an awkward position and that decisions might therefore be made without sufficient discussion.

The outlet also reported concerns among some ministers over the president's frequent use of social media to communicate on policy. Lee denied these claims, saying he had only heard of one minister expressing the view during a dinner that holding meetings publicly was difficult.

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The prime minister's office also rejected the newspaper's report, stating that ministers can freely express disagreement and that the president welcomes differing opinions.

Closed parts of meetings

The president noted that closed sessions are held after the open part of government meetings. Issues requiring confidentiality or topics inconvenient to discuss publicly can be considered there. He also said he encourages ministers to approach him personally if they cannot raise a particular issue during a meeting.

In July 2025, Lee's administration became the first in South Korea to broadcast substantive discussions at government meetings. Previously, only the president's opening remarks were usually public. The duration of broadcasts increased from one hour and 15 minutes on July 29, 2025, to a record four hours and 42 minutes on May 20, 2026.