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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

South Korean President: Constitutional order threats more severe than corruption

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • President Lee Jae-myung stated that acts destroying the constitutional order are more serious than corruption.
  • He emphasized the need to address the spread of fake news and the societal issue of polarization during the first Anti-Corruption Policy Council meeting.
  • The president directed the acceleration of AI integration into administrative tasks to detect corruption, citing examples of local council members and public officials engaging in corrupt practices.

President Lee Jae-myung declared that acts undermining the constitutional order are a more severe issue than corruption itself. He made these remarks on August 21st while presiding over the first Anti-Corruption Policy Council meeting since his inauguration, held at the Blue House.

Recently, acts destroying the constitutional order are more serious than anti-corruption efforts.

— President Lee Jae-myungStating his priority during the Anti-Corruption Policy Council meeting.

According to Senior Presidential Secretary Kang Yoo-jung, President Lee stressed the urgency of discussing the causes and solutions for societal polarization, where "only extremes exist and the middle is disappearing," alongside the rampant spread of fake news. The meeting, which lasted two hours and forty minutes, focused on eradicating local corruption, tackling corruption in public contracts, and preventing the misappropriation of state funds and collusion with former officials.

Fake news is rampant, and society is becoming polarized with only extremes and no middle ground.

— President Lee Jae-myungHighlighting societal issues discussed at the policy meeting.

During the meeting, President Lee received reports detailing instances of corruption, such as local council members awarding contracts to companies owned by themselves or their families, and public officials embezzling public funds using unofficial ledgers. Expressing disbelief, he instructed relevant ministries and agencies to expedite the AI-driven transformation of administrative tasks by forming AI research teams to systematically detect such corrupt practices.

It is unbelievable.

— President Lee Jae-myungReacting to reports of corruption involving local officials.

In his opening remarks, President Lee emphasized the non-partisan nature of anti-corruption efforts, stating, "There can be no 'us vs. them,' left or right, in eradicating corruption. It requires clear principles, fair application without exception, and strict enforcement." He also highlighted the need to address the involvement of local power groups in seeking illicit gains and lingering corruption within the private sector and politics, despite improvements.

There can be no 'us vs. them,' left or right, in eradicating corruption. It requires clear principles, fair application without exception, and strict enforcement.

— President Lee Jae-myungEmphasizing the need for impartial and rigorous anti-corruption measures.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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