President Lee Jae Myung speaks during the 38th Cabinet meeting of 2026 at the Blue House on Sept. 1.JOINT PRESS CORPS
Kim Sung-tak
The author is an editorial writer at the JoongAng Ilbo.
President Lee Jae Myung has much in common with former President Roh Moo-hyun. Neither rose with the backing of the political establishment. Both worked as human rights and labor lawyers and built recognition from the ground up. Their blunt speaking styles, openly confronting controversy, are also similar. The fandoms created around these strong personalities — Roh’s “Nosamo” and Lee’s “Daughters of Reform” — helped propel them to the presidency.
Both presidents have strong characters that readily reveal their convictions. But Roh often became embroiled in controversy, as illustrated by his remark that he “couldn’t do the presidency.” Lee, praised for “refreshing administration” when he cracked down on illegal facilities occupying valleys as Gyeonggi governor, now communicates his thoughts directly through social media. He does not hesitate to criticize critical news reports or point out inadequate answers from officials at Cabinet meetings. Yet policies reflecting the president’s wishes, including changes to real estate taxation, have shaken his approval ratings.
A strong presidential character always carries risks because the office wields enormous power. Institutions of power such as the Blue House can unintentionally fall into confirmation bias. If reports are tailored to the president’s governing philosophy or ideological orientation and ministries shape policies accordingly, warnings about side effects or market resistance may go unheard. One example was the announcement, without adequate scrutiny, of a policy that would treat even owners of a single home differently for tax purposes depending on whether they lived in it.
That is why the Blue House needs a “red team” willing to speak candidly to the president. Opposition parties, the media and civic groups can object to or warn against government policies. But an internal red team should probe vulnerabilities, just as a simulated enemy attacks friendly forces in military exercises, asking where government policies and strategies would first collapse if they failed. Paradoxically, such a body is especially necessary when the ruling party has enough seats to pass legislation alone.
The presidential chief of staff and other aides presumably convey public sentiment to Lee, but no clearly defined red team is visible in the current Blue House. In previous Democratic Party administrations, the chief of the presidential situation room served as a comprehensive control tower. Beyond managing national crises, accidents and emergencies, the office coordinated issues among ministries and monitored public sentiment and opinion.
Under Roh, in particular, one of the president’s closest aides headed the situation room, becoming his eyes and ears while reviewing state affairs and coordinating key tasks. By comparison, the current administration’s situation room has yet to establish a similarly prominent role.
For a red team to function properly, however, the president must be willing to listen. Yoon Tae-young, who served Roh at close range as chief of his first presidential secretary’s office, wrote in his recently published “Biography of Roh Moo-hyun” that Roh listened to his aides as much as he enjoyed communicating.
Yoon recalled that his office sometimes had to report unpleasant news or articles and even ask Roh to reconsider decisions. Roh would usually nod and simply say, “I understand.” Aides sometimes worried they had said too much, but Roh would return with his response within a day or, at most, two or three days.
Yoon also recounts how, days after Roh’s inauguration, situation room chief Lee Kwang-jae met the president privately to oppose a ministerial appointment. Roh became angry and demanded, “Are you the appointing authority?” Lee could not sleep that night. But early the next morning, Roh summoned him and said he had reconsidered.
“I was angry because I had carefully drawn up the list and you opposed it,” Roh said. “But after thinking about it, I realized you had a point. We should change those who need changing.”
Friday, President Lee is holding a press conference as his approval rating declines. Yesterday, did he vigorously debate anticipated questions and answers with his aides? Was there an aide willing to offer advice that Lee might not want to hear?
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.
