More casual mood permeates President Lee's first official press conference
Published: 03 Jul. 2025, 15:49
Updated: 03 Jul. 2025, 16:52
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- SARAH KIM
- [email protected]
![President Lee Jae Myung, right, chats with journalists during a press conference marking his first 30 days in office at the Blue House’s Yeongbingwan state guest house in central Seoul on July 3. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/07/03/3cd87c5f-76ad-41ea-ba60-2ff273ac8dae.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, right, chats with journalists during a press conference marking his first 30 days in office at the Blue House’s Yeongbingwan state guest house in central Seoul on July 3. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
Journalists asking questions through a "lucky draw," casual banter and talk of vacation plans were some of the characteristics of President Lee Jae Myung's first official press conference on Thursday, held just 30 days after taking office, earlier than any of his predecessors.
Lee answered 15 questions from the press in the 121-minute town hall-style affair, more casual than usual, held at the Yeongbingwan state guesthouse at the Blue House, the old presidential compound, in central Seoul, in an attempt to address state affairs and communicate directly with journalists.
The unscripted press conference began at 10 a.m. under the theme of "The president's 30 days: The press asks and the people get answers." Instead of speaking behind a podium, Lee sat behind a small table, eye level with the press corps who sat just around 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) away from the president in a semicircle format.
The questioning method was also novel, with no prior coordination of questions with the presidential press corps. Questioners were randomly chosen by drawing business cards submitted by journalists and also by the president's spontaneous selection.
Ahead of entering the press conference room, reporters dropped off their business cards into boxes labeled by the three themes of the morning's press conference — the economy and public livelihoods, politics, foreign affairs and security, and social and cultural issues.
![Journalists’ business cards are seen in raffle boxes divided by the themes of President Lee Jae Myung’s first formal press conference at the Blue House’s Yeongbingwan state guest house in central Seoul on July 3. The business cards were randomly drawn during the town hall meeting to select journalists to ask questions to the president. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/07/03/563e454a-2f72-4a1d-9196-7dd418ed0194.jpg)
Journalists’ business cards are seen in raffle boxes divided by the themes of President Lee Jae Myung’s first formal press conference at the Blue House’s Yeongbingwan state guest house in central Seoul on July 3. The business cards were randomly drawn during the town hall meeting to select journalists to ask questions to the president. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
A selected reporter replied that getting an opportunity to ask a question to the president was already a prize in itself.
Some 110 journalists participated in the town hall, including members of the presidential press corps, foreign correspondents and local grassroots media representatives who joined via video conference.
The press conference began with a soft question about Lee's thoughts on his first month in office, to which the president admitted that time flies quickly and also the pressure he feels from realizing how many people have to stand by for security and other purposes when he moves around.
"I feel anxious on Fridays because I'm usually locked up at the official residence on Saturdays and Sundays," Lee said. He noted that he learned there are often hundreds of security and protocol staffers on standby on weekends should he have any public activities, adding, "I try to work at the official residence on weekends whenever possible," earning a chuckle from the press corps.
"We weren't fully prepared since we started without a transition team, and there was a lot of confusion and many difficulties," Lee said. "We are making up for it with time and effort."
He continued, "I also have a lot of regrets and often think, what if there were 30 hours in a day instead of 24 hours?"
Lee lamented that some of his aides are looking gaunt and tired, saying he feels sorry to see "our old friend Wi Sung-lac had a nose bleed," referring to his national security adviser who looked on nearby, and" others are losing weight and looking pale." He said he is asking his aides to endure this so that work can be done more efficiently.
![President Lee Jae Myung takes questions from foreign correspondents during his first formal press conference marking 30 days in office at the Blue House’s Yeongbingwan state guest house in central Seoul on July 3. The town hall was attended by some 28 foreign correspondents alongside Korean reporters. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/07/03/2c0b2014-7582-4286-8677-18032f86ca7d.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung takes questions from foreign correspondents during his first formal press conference marking 30 days in office at the Blue House’s Yeongbingwan state guest house in central Seoul on July 3. The town hall was attended by some 28 foreign correspondents alongside Korean reporters. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
When asked by a foreign correspondent about U.S. tariff negotiations, Lee responded, "I knew I was definitely going to get asked a question on this and actually thought a lot about what to say."
Lee through the press conference conveyed his willingness to communicate "directly" with the press, as his office has been focusing on removing the distance between the president and reporters, focusing on a message of "closer, wider and newer."
When presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung gently reminded the president that time was running out, Lee likewise acknowledged that his answers were long-winded, not allowing enough time for the press to ask questions.
Toward the end of the event, Lee said that he hadn't heard much from major news agencies and directly called on two more reporters from the press corps.
Questions from journalists, covering a range of subjects including tariff negotiations with the United States, North Korea relations, real estate issues, prosecution reform, and the economy, were generally softer, as it is still in Lee's salad days in office. Presidents traditionally hold their first formal press conference marking 100 days in office.
Lee also addressed a reporter's question on his summer vacation plans, saying that during his time as Seongnam mayor, whenever he tried to take time off, there would be an incident, such as heavy rainfall or flooding. But he said he plans to go this time.
"When I do go on vacation, it would be nice to have some free time to meet you separately," Lee said to the reporters. "Or, really have a lottery."
Lee, in both his opening and closing remarks, expressed gratitude to the people and promised to work hard for his five-year term.
"Although many difficulties lie ahead of us, I am confident that if our officials take the lead and our people demonstrate their potential, we will be able to overcome these crises quickly and move forward into a new world with hope that is completely different from the past," Lee said in his closing remarks.
BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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