President Lee Holds First-Ever Live Work Briefing... Sharp Criticism on Jeonse Fraud, Drugs, and Personal Data

December 11-12: Government Ministry Work Briefings
Proactive Administration Urged for Public Safety and Lives
Review Ordered for 'Advance Support and Subsequent Subrogation' for Jeonse Fraud Victims
Calls for Addressing Discrimination Between Reg

President Lee Jaemyung, during government ministry and public institution work briefings held on December 11 and 12, strongly urged "proactive administration" regarding issues related to public safety and lives, stating that "repeated accidents in the same area constitute intentional acts and gross negligence." He emphasized that the state must take the lead, at least in matters of safety, breaking away from the practice of evading responsibility by merely following procedures or blaming budget and manpower constraints. He also made it clear that administrative delays due to simple budget or manpower shortages are unacceptable, and criticized the act of presenting unrealistic plans that give false hope to the public as "irresponsible administration."

Kim Namjun, spokesperson for the presidential office, introduced President Lee's directives from the work briefing held at the Sejong Convention Center during a briefing at the Yongsan presidential office on December 14. This work briefing, marking six months since the launch of the Lee Jaemyung administration, was broadcast live in its entirety for the first time in history to accelerate the cabinet's policy implementation and directly present the blueprint for the "government of national sovereignty" to the public. This week, work briefings will continue for the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Unification, Financial Services Commission, Ministry of Justice, and others.

Yonhap News Agency

"Repeated Accidents Are Intentional and Gross Negligence"... Safety-Related Work as the Top Priority for Proactive Administration

President Lee focused on the issue of recurring accidents during the Korea Expressway Corporation's report. He defined "repeated accidents in the same area as intentional acts and gross negligence," and urged, "Pay special attention to facility management to ensure that accidents do not recur in the same area." He also instructed that "work related to the lives and safety of the people must be approached with the utmost proactivity." During the Korea Customs Service briefing, he pointed out the passive approach to drug enforcement and stressed the need for "legitimate exercise of state authority" to protect public safety.

During the report from the Personal Information Protection Commission, President Lee called for strong economic sanctions against repeated and serious personal data leaks. According to spokesperson Kim, President Lee stated, "Economic sanctions in our country are too weak, so violations are taken too lightly and there is no real effort to prevent them," adding, "There should be such strong economic penalties that companies feel they could go bankrupt if they harm the public."

"Advance Support and Subsequent Subrogation for Jeonse Fraud Victims Is an Official Promise to the People"... Responsible Administration as the Top Priority

President Lee presented "responsible administration" as the highest value in state governance. Regarding countermeasures for jeonse fraud victims during the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's briefing, he stated, "The plan for the government to first pay part of the deposit to jeonse fraud victims and then exercise subrogation rights is an official promise to the people," instructing that the relevant details be reviewed and reported back.

He further clarified, "It is unacceptable to fail to do what is necessary due to lack of budget or manpower," making it clear that administrative delays for such reasons will not be tolerated. Spokesperson Kim explained, "The principle of state affairs is that promises made to the people must be kept."

On the other hand, President Lee criticized the act of giving the public false hope with unrealistic plans as "irresponsible administration." He stated that, rather than presenting ambiguous goals to avoid political criticism, "it is better to report the reality to the public, deliberate together, and set achievable goals," expressing his view that "politics must be transparent."

Discrimination Between Regular and Non-Regular Workers, Issues with Lowest-Bid Practices... Calls for Fair State Governance

Yonhap News Agency

He also called for fair state governance. During the Ministry of Employment and Labor's briefing, President Lee mentioned discrimination between regular and non-regular workers, criticizing it as "creating positions with undue benefits for those doing the same work, and allowing people to enjoy such unfair status through competition."

During the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's briefing, he pointed out the problem of lowest-bid practices. President Lee called for the inclusion of public interest factors such as whether companies cooperate with domestic firms and whether they promote mutual growth with workers and suppliers in bid evaluations. He also urged that unfair practices undermining fairness, such as the use of paper companies, "must not be tolerated."

During the National Tax Service's briefing, he addressed abuses of the seized property disposal system. Recalling his days as a lawyer, President Lee explained that, because the National Tax Service does not sell seized property with lower-priority liens, "delinquent taxpayers sometimes end up living in their homes for life after having fake mortgages placed on them," and instructed prompt improvement of the relevant system. In the Ministry of Economy and Finance's briefing, he identified regional balanced development and polarization as "major fairness issues in our society," and ordered that these be "always considered the highest priority" when formulating fiscal and tax policy.

"No Bureaucratic Convenience in R&D"

During the Ministry of Science and ICT's report, President Lee also raised issues with the evaluation methods of government research and development (R&D) projects. He pointed out the excessively high government R&D success rates, stating that "due to bureaucratic convenience in evaluation methods, research that is difficult for the private sector, has low success rates, and is needed in the long term is not being conducted."

Regarding research project management, he said, "For the sake of administrative convenience, we are placing restrictions on the innocent majority rather than the few who actually commit wrongdoing," and instructed that while autonomy should be maximized, "strict sanctions" must be imposed on the small number who do commit violations.

At the end of each work briefing, a free speech session for working-level staff was held at the President's suggestion. During this session, when the Deputy Commissioner of the Korea Aerospace Administration suggested that President Lee visit the agency and personally present the appointment letter to G-Dragon as their honorary ambassador, President Lee responded, "Are you giving me a chance to meet G-Dragon?" and said, "I should go," prompting laughter in the meeting room, according to spokesperson Kim.