[News analysis] Lee puts reelection controversy to rest, but other controversies linger

President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a news conference at the Blue House state guest house on Sept. 18, 2026. (pool photo)

In a news conference on Friday, Korean President Lee Jae Myung sought to quash a number of political controversies that have hounded him, including those over whether he sought a constitutional amendment to allow him to serve a second term and whether a special prosecutor might retract pending indictments against him.

With an eye to his approval rating, which recently fell below 40%, Lee stressed unity to his disaffected supporters and humbly acknowledged his shortcomings in a nod to moderates.

But numerous challenges remain for Lee, including squabbling inside the ruling bloc, confusion over real estate policies, and allegations of sloppy personnel vetting after his pick for justice minister bowed out of consideration. Analysts say that Lee’s job performance in the months to come will decide whether he can keep his approval rating from slipping any further.

 Blue House’s vetting process under scrutiny after Kim drops candidacy

Rep. Kim Seung-won of the Democratic Party voluntarily withdrew from consideration for justice minister in a news conference at the National Assembly on Saturday.

“I fully recognize that I fell short of the public’s expectations,” Kim said.

Kim’s announcement came one day after Lee said during his own news conference that he would reach a “careful decision” about whether to nominate Kim “in consideration of public expectations.”

Kim’s withdrawal, following an earlier move by Rep. Yong Hye-in, who had been nominated for gender equality minister, raises the number of failed ministerial appointments to five in the Lee administration.

Yong had faced criticism over retaining her status as a proportional representative in the National Assembly, while Kim faced accusations about lobbying for new drugs for COVID-19. Considering that both of those issues should have been flagged in advance, questions are being raised about the efficacy of the Blue House’s system for recommending, vetting and appointing officials.

In addition, the Blue House reportedly received a petition from a former aide accusing Kim of sexual harassment, drunk driving and verbal abuse.

But a member of the ruling party explained that Kim’s withdrawal was unrelated to the petition, adding that “we get all kinds of tips during the vetting process.”

“Considering that President Lee had already mentioned ‘public expectations’ during the news conference, going ahead and appointing Kim would have aroused suspicions about the sincerity of [his remarks in] the conference,” the party member said.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, People Power Party (PPP) leader Jang Dong-hyuk wrote, “[The administration] has only chosen [ministerial candidates] who go against the public’s will, and even there, it has failed completely with its vetting.”

The party’s chief spokesperson, Choi Bo-yun, went after the administration in a commentary, stressing that it should “explain why the prior vetting and confirmation hearing preparations only went to work later than the public’s judgment” and “conduct a full-scale review of the appointment system.”

 Dismissing the prospect of presidential reelection, calling for removal of indictment dismissal provisions

In his press conference, Lee focused on addressing some of the political misgivings surrounding him, including two matters that have been cited as factors in his approval rating falling below 40%: the prospect of amending the Constitution to allow presidents to serve more than one term and issues relating to the dismissal of indictments.

In prefatory remarks before receiving questions from reporters, Lee stressed that he had “no thought whatsoever of serving a second term” as president, dismissing concerns that he might pursue a constitutional amendment to allow for his reelection.

In his remarks, Lee stressed that he had been “lacking in many ways,” using a word meaning “lacking” or “deficient” a total of 13 times.

He emphasized that he agreed it was “right to have a special prosecutor investigate incidents where malicious manipulation of investigations is suspected,” while adding that the focus “should only be on investigating.” His remarks read as an acknowledgment of the need for a special prosecutor’s probe of manufactured indictments, as well as a call for the National Assembly to remove existing provisions on the dismissal of indictments.

Meeting with reporters on Sunday, Democratic Party senior spokesperson Park Sung-joon stated plans to “reach an agreement with the parliamentary leadership” on special prosecutor legislation.

“I do not have a specific position at this time,” he added.

 Internal conflicts and real estate issues remain

Lee devoted a substantial part of his press conference to calling on the Democratic Party to resolve its conflicts and rallying its supporters, urging the party to “clear away concerns that prosecutorial reforms are moving backwards.”

But signs of ongoing party divisions were evident that same day as figures such as Gyeonggi Gov. Choo Mi-ae and Rep. Kim Yong-min called on the administration to withdraw its nomination of former prosecutor Kim Ji-yong to serve as head of the new agency to investigate serious crimes. 

In a message Saturday on X, Lee stressed the need for unity in his party, calling for an “immediate end to the hatred, sarcasm and emotional attacks.”

During his press conference, he stated that “one of this administration’s key tasks is to shed [the image of South Korea as] a ‘republic of real estate speculation.’”

“That’s what this administration is doing,” he stressed.

But he did not present clear measures to restore trust in his policies and address concerns about the real estate market that surfaced with revisions to an amended tax plan structured around differential rates for non-resident homeowners with a single home.

Lee was also sparing in his comments on single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which have been cited as one of the main factors behind stock market fluctuations.

“I do think there have been some imperfections with the government’s policies. I think it’s right that there have been shortcomings,” he acknowledged.

Experts predicted that only the administration’s future approach and results would tell whether the press conference ultimately becomes an inflection point that reverses his decline in approval rating. 

Yoon Tae-gon, the director of political analysis at the think tank The Moa, said, “On the whole, the sight of [Lee] expressing humility could have a positive effect in terms of slightly slowing the drop in support ratings, but it’s unlikely that a single press conference will lead to a rebound in his support ratings.”

Seo Bok-yeung, the head of The Possibility Lab, said, “In his press conference, the president did his utmost to provide explanations to dispel the worries and uncertainties of people who supported him before but are now reserving or withdrawing their support.”

“For him to pull his support ratings back up, I think it is important for him to continue to fulfill his past pledges on schedule and honor his past pledges until the 2028 general elections,” Seo added.

By Seo Young-ji, staff reporter; Jeong Hye-min, staff reporter