South Korean leader says live-streamed briefings may be more entertaining than Netflix
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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung begun streaming presidential policy briefings as part of a push for more “direct democracy”.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SEOUL – South Korean leader Lee Jae Myung has said that new live-streamed briefings in which he has dressed down officials might be “more entertaining than Netflix” as he seeks to boost transparency in contrast to his more autocratic predecessor.
Regular presidential policy briefings were previously held behind closed doors, but Seoul has begun streaming them online as part of a push for more “direct democracy”.
The move is a stark departure from the previous conservative government under disgraced former president Yoon Suk Yeol, who introduced daily doorstep media briefings but scrapped them after just six months when they became too combative.
Yoon was ousted in April
Mr Lee, who was elected in June, quipped during a session this week that some viewers may find the live-streamed briefings “more entertaining than Netflix”.
Some of the exchanges have drawn public amusement when they showed the leader scolding officials over their answers.
In one, he told a Cabinet meeting: “If you don’t know something, say you don’t know.
“Trying to get out of a difficult situation by submitting false or distorted reports is the real problem.”
Mr Lee said on Dec 17 that South Koreans were “the most democratically minded people in the entire world”.
“That’s why we should disclose as much information as possible,” he added.
But the new arrangements have also drawn some backlash, with one conservative newspaper describing the public tongue-lashing as akin to workplace gapjil – a Korean term for abusive or authoritarian behaviour by those in positions of power. AFP
