President Lee Jae-myung on the 16th expressed "deep regret over false claims" in response to criticism that live broadcasts of Cabinet meetings discourage ministers from speaking freely.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, titled "On the Controversy Over Opening Cabinet Meetings," Lee said he could not agree with arguments that all Cabinet meetings should be closed, noting that only part of them is currently open to the public. "We are opening part of the Cabinet meetings to the people, who hold sovereignty, and I cannot agree with the argument from some quarters that all of them should be closed," he said.
Lee first disputed reports suggesting that ministers had recommended switching to closed-door meetings. "Apart from one minister saying at a dinner hosted by the prime minister that opening the Cabinet meetings was difficult, reports that a recommendation was made to stop opening them, or other claims about social media, appear not to be true," he said.
He added that Cabinet meetings include a separate closed session following the open portion, with matters requiring confidentiality or those that could put ministers in an awkward position discussed behind closed doors. "Openness is the principle for all administration, including state affairs, and the minutes of Cabinet meetings have been disclosed for some time," he said. While acknowledging that ministers may feel uncomfortable when the president asks questions to verify facts during open sessions, he said, "It is only natural for a minister in charge to know their own duties like the back of their hand."
He said he does not expect ministers to know every detailed figure, adding that he has repeatedly told them, "Just say you don't know when you don't, as I do. Please do not make false reports or pretend to know when you don't, because it gets in the way of debate and judgment."
Lee explained that he encourages ministers to convey anything difficult to raise even in closed sessions through individual phone calls, messages, luncheons or one-on-one meetings. "I am confident that, at the very least, there is no member of this Cabinet who cannot say what needs to be said to the president," he said. "The claim that one cannot speak because the meeting is open does not hold up logically, because a closed session follows." He described such arguments as "what appears to be wishful thinking from those who want to block the opening of the meetings."
Lee also compared direct communication between the public and elected officials to "direct trade" between producers and consumers. "Just as middlemen find direct trade between producers and consumers inconvenient, there will be many who find direct communication between the people and elected officials inconvenient," he said. "I find it hard to agree with blocking direct trade in order to guarantee distribution margins."
He also stressed that the government is expanding the number of participants by revising presidential decrees in order to hear more views and counterarguments and to enable substantive debate, adding that the public is directly witnessing cases in which officials openly push back against the president's views. "A good friend is one who offers hard truths," Lee said. "If a public official believes another official has a problem that needs correcting but does not point it out, that is either shirking responsibility out of self-interest or a betrayal of the people's trust."