President Lee calls for unity, inclusiveness as controversy rages over conservative Cabinet pick
Published: 30 Dec. 2025, 15:49
Updated: 30 Dec. 2025, 17:09
![President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the Blue House on Dec. 30. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/12/30/865b2b76-7fce-485b-89c0-6047fa896694.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the Blue House on Dec. 30. [YONHAP]
President Lee Jae Myung called for national unity and political inclusiveness on Tuesday at his first Cabinet meeting after relocating to the Blue House, amid controversy over his nomination of a former conservative lawmaker as minister of planning and budget.
Presiding over the meeting, Lee said he hoped the public would understand that “a great deal was carefully considered” in the process of nominating Cabinet members and making key appointments.
Although he did not mention her by name, the remarks were widely interpreted as referring to the controversy surrounding his nomination of former conservative People Power Party lawmaker Lee Hye-hoon as minister of planning and budget.
“The president bears the ultimate responsibility to build a better future for the people and the nation on the foundation of the people’s united strength,” President Lee said. “Until the moment you become president, you represent a particular political force. But the moment you become president, you must represent everyone.”
Lee went on to say that holding power should not mean imposing one side’s identity on society. “Just because people who like the color blue have authority doesn’t mean society should be painted entirely blue,” he said. “Have people who like red lost their qualification as members of the community? Of course not. They are still sovereign citizens.
“A world in which everyone lives well together — that is democracy and civilization,” Lee said, adding that “trying to eliminate those with different views and take everything for oneself is insurrection.”
In an increasingly polarized society, he said, leaders must make greater efforts toward integration rather than confrontation. “To move toward a normal society, not through political maneuvering, we need to continuously embrace the logic of the opposing side,” Lee said. “The role of inclusion must be expanded and sustained.”
![President Lee Jae Myung, center, holds a meeting with senior aides at the Blue House compound in central Seoul on Dec. 29, after the relocation of the presidential office. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/12/30/3d3f7cc1-0ce6-49df-83b9-35d0d3223cb2.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, center, holds a meeting with senior aides at the Blue House compound in central Seoul on Dec. 29, after the relocation of the presidential office. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
He also called on politicians and public officials to set an example, urging them to reflect deeply on the importance of unity.
“Ultimately, all decisions are made according to the will of the people,” Lee said. “But recognizing differences and affirming the existence of those who are different from us is the source of synergy. I hope Korea becomes a more inclusive and harmonized society.”
Lee added a caveat, saying inclusiveness does not mean abandoning core values. “We came to power symbolized by the color blue, but that doesn’t mean mixing all the colors of the rainbow until everything turns black,” he said. “This is not about making a hodgepodge. It’s about broadening the pool of talent and the playing field, as long as our principles, values and foundations are not undermined.”
Lee also pushed back against some media coverage suggesting that his administration was giving too many positions to conservatives.
“Some media outlets have written strange articles asking, ‘If you give all the positions to conservatives, what about those who helped bring you to power?’” Lee said. “What do you mean, give them all?”
Earlier in the morning on Tuesday, Lee Hye-hoon issued an apology as she arrived at her temporary office at the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation headquarters in Jung District, central Seoul.
![Lee Hye-hoon, the nominee for the new minister for planning and budget, talks to reporters while heading to her office to prepare for her parliamentary confirmation hearing in central Seoul on Dec. 29. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/12/30/153529ce-a124-40b6-885c-73a99c93cad9.jpg)
Lee Hye-hoon, the nominee for the new minister for planning and budget, talks to reporters while heading to her office to prepare for her parliamentary confirmation hearing in central Seoul on Dec. 29. [YONHAP]
“An insurrection is an illegal act that destroys democracy,” Lee said. “At the time, however, I failed to properly grasp the reality of what was happening.” Lee previously defended former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law last year.
She added that she had come forward to apologize to “everyone who struggled in the bitter cold a year ago to overcome the insurrection,” calling it “something that should never have happened in constitutional history.
“As a politician belonging to a party, I became trapped in partisanship and failed to see the essence of the issue and the true nature of the crisis facing the national community,” she continued. “I confess that honestly today.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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