"Missing 48 Hours": People Power Party Lawmaker First Raises Allegations
Presidential Office Discloses President Lee’s Activities in Rebuttal
Timing of "Please Take Care of My Refrigerator" Recording Revealed, Escalating Dispute... Opposition Shifts the Narrative
Political Dispute Escalates into Lawsuits and Criminal Complaints
Korea-U.S. Tariff Negotiations Deadlocked... EU Also Announces Tariff Measures for Industrial Protection
Throughout the unusually long Chuseok holiday this year, the presidential office and the political sphere have been locked in a heated dispute over the timing of President Lee Jaemyung and his spouse’s appearance on the variety show "Please Take Care of My Refrigerator." The People Power Party initiated the controversy, arguing that President Lee and his spouse inappropriately recorded the show while the aftermath of the National Information Resources Service (NIRS) fire was still ongoing-this, on the very day President Lee returned from New York after attending the United Nations General Assembly. In response, the presidential office and the Democratic Party of Korea countered by accusing the ruling party of spreading false information. The dispute has since escalated into a series of lawsuits and criminal complaints.
The controversy over the president and first lady’s appearance on the variety show was first raised by People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jinwoo. On October 3, Joo claimed that President Lee had a "missing 48 hours," alleging that he and his spouse filmed the variety show during the NIRS fire. As Joo’s claims spread, the presidential office responded at 1:40 p.m. the same day, calling the allegations false and clarifying that President Lee held an emergency response meeting on the morning of September 28, filmed the show in the afternoon, and later chaired a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCHQ) meeting.
Presidential Office: "President Was on Return Flight at Time of Fire, Monitored Situation Overnight After Arrival"... Rebuts "Missing 48 Hours"
To counter Joo’s "missing 48 hours" claim posted on social media, the presidential office released a detailed account of President Lee’s activities. According to the office, the NIRS fire broke out at 8:20 p.m. on September 26, and President Lee landed at Seoul Airport at 8:40 p.m. after his New York trip. Upon arrival, he received reports from the National Crisis Management Center chief and cabinet ministers on disaster response protocols for administrative information systems, public service disruptions, data damage, and backup status, and monitored the situation throughout the night.
The initial containment of the NIRS fire took place at 6:30 a.m. on September 27. The presidential office notified the press of the situation at 9:39 a.m. that day through a statement from Communications Chief Lee Guyoun. On Sunday, September 28, at 10:50 a.m., President Lee convened an "emergency response meeting" regarding the fire, attended by Chief of Staff Kang Hunsik, National Security Advisor Wi Sunglak, and Policy Chief Kim Yongbeom, who reported directly to him. Later that day, at 5:30 p.m., President Lee personally visited the Seoul Government Complex to chair a face-to-face and virtual CDSCHQ meeting with ministers and the governors of all 17 provinces and metropolitan cities.
In detailing these activities, the presidential office, through spokesperson Kang Yujeong, issued a written briefing stating, "Lawmaker Joo’s post, claiming ‘while the public suffered from the NIRS fire, the president remained silent for two days without chairing meetings or visiting the scene,’ is a clear act of spreading false information. We are preparing legal action against the deliberate politicization of a national crisis and dissemination of falsehoods."
Variety Show Recording Revealed, Escalating Dispute... Opposition Shifts the Narrative
Despite the presidential office’s disclosure of President Lee’s schedule, the controversy did not subside. Instead, news broke that the variety show "Please Take Care of My Refrigerator" had been recorded on September 28, prompting Joo and other People Power Party members to intensify their criticism. Their argument shifted from the "missing 48 hours" narrative to claiming that it was inappropriate for the president to record a variety show amid the confusion following the NIRS fire.
On October 4, at 3:44 p.m., the presidential office further revealed that President Lee recorded the variety show during a roughly three-hour window between the morning "emergency response meeting" and the afternoon CDSCHQ meeting. Spokesperson Kim Namjoon issued a written briefing stating that, in light of all government ministries holding memorials for a public servant who died while restoring the national IT network, the office had requested the broadcaster to postpone the airing. The Chuseok special episode, which focused on the globalization of K-Food, was thus delayed by one day and aired at 10 p.m. on October 6.
Meanwhile, the political dispute escalated into legal action. On October 7, the Democratic Party of Korea filed a police complaint against People Power Party leader Jang Donghyuk for defamation. Joo Jinwoo, the lawmaker who first raised the allegations, was also sued for defamation by Democratic Party lawmaker Mo Kyungjong for spreading false information.
The Democratic Party stated, "After the presidential office provided a detailed explanation regarding the 48-hour allegations, the People Power Party shifted the narrative to the variety show appearance. This is shameless and baseless slander by a party with a history of insurrection." Democratic Party spokesperson Kim Hyunjung added, "On October 5, Jang posted on Facebook, ‘President Lee Jaemyung’s 48-hour lie.’ This constitutes clear defamation based on false information. As a former judge, Jang should be well aware that defamation is a serious crime." Spokespersons Boo Seungchan and Cho Seungrae also directly refuted the ruling party’s claims.
In response, on October 6, Joo Jinwoo filed a police complaint against presidential office spokesperson Kang Yujeong and Democratic Party chief spokesperson Park Soohyun for defamation through false statements. Chief spokesperson Choi Boyoon stated on October 7, "Even in the face of a national IT network crisis, President Lee’s penchant for political showmanship-always seeking the camera-epitomizes hypocrisy and double standards." Earlier, on October 5, Jang Donghyuk also posted on Facebook, "President Lee’s 48-hour account was ultimately a lie. He tried to cover one lie with another and finally admitted on October 4 to recording the variety show on September 28."
International Uncertainty Grows as Burdens on the Korean Economy Increase...
While the ruling and opposition parties continue their legal battles over President Lee’s activities, global uncertainty is deepening. In particular, with Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations deadlocked, the European Union has joined the United States in announcing plans to significantly raise steel import barriers under the pretext of industrial protection, further increasing the burden on the Korean economy. The benefits of duty-free steel imports will be drastically reduced, and tariffs will rise to 50%, as in the United States, making Korean steel exports particularly vulnerable.
On October 7 (local time), the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, officially announced regulations to protect the European steel industry. According to the new rules, the annual duty-free quota for all imported steel products will be capped at 18.3 million tons. Tariffs on imports exceeding the quota will rise from 25% to 50%. These measures apply to all third countries except European Economic Area (EEA) members Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, with country-specific duty-free quotas to be determined through individual negotiations with trading partners.
Working-level Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations, aimed at reaching an agreement before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju at the end of this month, have made little progress due to what the Korean side describes as unreasonable U.S. demands. On October 5, the presidential office held an "emergency trade affairs meeting on Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations" jointly chaired by Policy Chief Kim Yongbeom and National Security Advisor Wi Sunglak, where they discussed the outcome of Industry Minister Kim Jeonggwan’s meeting with the U.S. Secretary of Commerce on October 4 (local time).
The U.S. side is reportedly making unreasonable demands, overturning the consensus reached at the end of July’s summit. These include requiring the entire $350 billion Korea-U.S. investment fund to be provided as cash equity (direct investment), as well as renewed calls for further opening of Korea’s agricultural and fisheries markets, which had previously seemed settled. The Korean government has sent a revised memorandum of understanding (MOU) in response to these excessive U.S. demands.
The government maintains that it will continue follow-up negotiations with the U.S. based on the principle of prioritizing the national interest. However, with the U.S. federal government’s temporary shutdown entering its seventh day and Portland, Oregon having fallen into anarchy following a terrorist attack on September 27-prompting President Trump to order military deployment-the situation remains extremely chaotic, casting doubt on whether timely progress in negotiations can be achieved.
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