President Lee Jae-myung has pushed back against criticism over the seating of law enforcement chiefs at Cabinet meetings by citing an answer from Gemini, a generative artificial intelligence service. On the 21st, Lee posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he "asked Gemini," along with the AI's response describing as "unconstitutional nonsense" the argument that the heads of the Public Prosecution Agency and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency cannot attend Cabinet meetings. But the main criticism from opposition parties and the press was not about constitutionality. It was that the arrangement could undermine political neutrality and the independence of investigations. The question is whether it is appropriate for the heads of agencies that could investigate even the president to sit before him every week taking down his remarks. Pulling in an AI answer to dismiss concerns about investigative neutrality as "unconstitutional nonsense" is not fair.
It is absurd for a president to ask an AI about a matter of state affairs and then present that answer as grounds for a rebuttal. A president may ask an AI for its views and use them as a reference. But he should not try to silence criticism by leaning on an unverified answer. Generative AI can produce different answers depending on the premise and framing of the question. A president who should be persuading the public with the constitution and the law appears instead to be hiding behind an AI's response. Nor is this something to be brushed off as wit or humor. It even invited the opposition's blunt jab that "if he is going to govern by asking Gemini, replace the president with Gemini." The responsibility to explain how the independence of investigations will be guaranteed rests with the president, not with an AI.
On the 19th, at the presidential press center, Lee described social media as "something like a lifeline" and "a breathing hole." There is no reason to fault him for communicating with the public. But when social media drifts into a political tool for attacking the other side and rallying supporters, it only deepens conflict. He explains terms such as "jwaahage," slang used among his supporters, as humor, yet if even some people took it as drawing lines between camps, it was an inappropriate choice. A president's words carry a different weight. Social media can be no exception.
The police marked Police Day on the 21st with no commissioner general in place for a 22nd month. In his commemorative address, Lee stressed that "responsibility for the exercise of authority must also be made clear," yet he has failed to install the very chief who would be accountable for the organization. What is urgent now is not seating law enforcement chiefs at Cabinet meetings. It is filling the leadership vacuum, guaranteeing the independence and fairness of investigations, and dispelling public anxiety over the overhaul of the criminal justice system.