[Edaily Hyera Lee Hwang Byeong Seo Reporter] Political sparring is intensifying over the controversy surrounding President Lee Jae-myung’s frequent overseas trips. After President Lee countered the opposition’s criticism by saying, “A pig sees only pigs,” the opposition fired back, demanding that he present tangible diplomatic achievements. With government ministries also unusually joining the fray, the controversy appears to be spreading.
On the 31st of last month, President Lee shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) in which a supporter countered the opposition’s criticism of his frequent trips by asking, “Do you view the president’s trips as mere sightseeing? He goes to conduct diplomatic business with foreign leaders.” President Lee wrote, “Just as a Buddha sees only Buddhas and a pig sees only pigs, people tend to see only what they know.” This was his direct response to the opposition’s recent criticism—raised during parliamentary oversight hearings and elsewhere—regarding the frequency of his trips and the fact that First Lady Kim Hye-kyung accompanies him.
President Lee also wrote, “From the perspective of someone who thinks a presidential overseas trip consists of doing nothing but taking photos, showing off, and enjoying drinking, shopping, and sightseeing, even a trip that involves intense preparatory work, long flights, a packed official schedule, and such a high workload that I frequently need IV drips and suffer nosebleeds might look like a vacation.”
In response, the opposition pointed to the President’s “pig” remark and launched a renewed offensive, demanding that diplomacy be judged by results rather than the intensity of the workload.
Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik posted on Facebook on the 1st, saying, “Since you’re viewing state affairs through the eyes of a pig, you’ll only see pig-like things,” and directly criticized the president, adding, “Stop blaming the previous administration and making comparisons—I hope you prove yourself through results.” Representative Jang Dong-hyeok also said the previous day, “Do you view all citizens who criticize you as pigs? You don’t need to get IV drips or have nosebleeds, so please show some restraint now.” He went on to mention the Lumière Summit in France and the K-pop concert in Mexico, both attended by President Lee, writing, “Didn’t you even go all the way to a French film festival that no other world leader attended? No wonder you need an IV.”
The Reform New Party also issued a statement saying, “What the public wants to hear is not the president’s tales of hardship or his ‘pig’ rhetoric,” and demanded, “Report concrete diplomatic achievements befitting our national stature and the taxpayers’ money.”
As the controversy spread, government ministries also stepped in to express their public positions. Late last night, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying, “It is inappropriate to downplay the significance of the state visit by highlighting only certain social and cultural exchange moments.” Choi Hwi-young, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, also expressed regret on Facebook that day regarding Representative Jang’s criticism of President Lee’s attendance at the cultural event, saying, “Representative Jang, if you invite me, I will come to meet with you and explain South Korea’s K-culture policies and achievements, which the entire nation takes pride in and is dedicated to.”