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Who really needs 'objective obsession'

Published: 23 Mar. 2026, 00:02

Seo Seung-wook

Seo Seung-wook

The author is the chief editor of digital content at the JoongAng Ilbo.

Kim Eo-jun, a pro-government YouTuber, said on the program “News Factory” on March 9, “I’ve been calling President Lee Jae Myung ‘objectively obsessive’ for about 10 years. He tends to act as his own red team. He constantly questions whether his decisions are biased because he is directly involved or a victim. [‘Objectively obsessive’ is] not an established term. It’s just what I call it. He compulsively evaluates whether his judgments are rational and reasonable from a third-party perspective,” Kim said.

Kim made the remarks while discussing Lee’s stance on so-called prosecutorial reform. The analysis suggests that Lee, as a victim of prosecutorial investigations, may be deliberately viewing the issue from the prosecution’s perspective as a “red team” to avoid becoming emotional, therefore keeping his distance from the hard-line faction within the Democratic Party. Regardless of Kim’s intent, if objective obsession is real, then it would be a highly desirable trait for a president, the holder of the highest power.

Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae delivers remarks at the party’s Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on February 23, emphasizing the completion of judicial reform through the passage of the reform bill.[YONHAP]

Lee has, in fact, appeared to check hard-liners, saying, “You shouldn’t burn down the house to catch a bedbug,” and “The idea that only my opinion counts as justice is a cause of failure.” However, the actual content of the legislation — described by Democratic Party leader Jung Cheong-rae as having been completed through “perfect coordination between the party, government and presidential office” — tells a different story. Except for a few provisions, most demands from the party’s hard-liners were accepted.

It remains unclear whether Lee truly played the role of a red team, whether he did so but ultimately accepted party demands out of concern over internal divisions among supporters or whether the presidential office and the ruling party divided roles into “good cop” and “bad cop” from the outset.

Many citizens are skeptical of the presidential office’s stance on the Democratic Party’s push to cancel indictments in cases involving the president. Even pro-government commentator Yoo Si-min criticized the issue, saying, “Either I’m crazy, or they are, and I don’t think I’m the one who’s crazy.” Some question why the presidential office, which had previously restrained the party’s attempt to pass a law suspending trials of a sitting president by arguing it should not be drawn into political strife, is not discouraging the push to cancel indictments. This issue could serve as a litmus test of whether Lee’s objective obsession is real and whether the red team within the president is truly functioning.

However, it seems that those who most need such objective obsession may be members of the opposition. As reflected in plummeting approval ratings, many people — regardless of ideology — now say they do not even want to see news related to the opposition. The People Power Party’s behavior has been unprecedented day after day, resembling a chaotic drama in which the party leader and the nomination committee chair take turns as the main characters while others take turns playing supporting roles — but the show is neither engaging nor compelling.

The party leader, standing at the center of the turmoil, appears to be following the same path once taken by former leader Hwang Kyo-ahn, though seemingly unaware of the predictable outcome. Far from demonstrating objective obsession, the leader appears to lack even basic self-awareness.

President Lee Jae Myung delivers opening remarks during a senior aides’ meeting at the main building of the Blue House in central Seoul on March 19, [JOINT PRESS CORP]

Similarly, the stance of a former party leader Han Dong-hun, who stands in complete opposition to the current leader, appears no different from the public’s perspective. His recent remark in an interview with Nikkei that “it was Korea that selected [him], not former President Yoon Suk Yeol,” sparked controversy. While the statement may fall within the realm of political showmanship, it may also come across as puzzling to those familiar with the individual’s political rise. There appears to be a need for objective reflection on why his personal favorability ratings have not risen as expected despite his opposing martial law, maintaining a relatively sound political stance and often speaking reasonably.

Even as controversial moves such as the push to cancel indictments, rumors of questionable deals and self-destructive power struggles emerge, they do not appear to constitute a major crisis for the ruling bloc — because politics is ultimately relative. It may be spring, but it does not feel that way; meanwhile, the state of the conservative camp remains frustrating.

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.