Lee ramps up social media posts after local elections, hitting 10 in a single day

President Lee Jae-myung has sharply increased his social media activity since the June 3 local elections, drawing attention for the volume and range of his posts. At a press conference marking his first year in office on Monday, Lee struck a humble tone over the election results, saying "the conclusion is that I fell short." Since then, he has been voicing positions on a string of issues — from rural basic income to an apology over a slide in his approval rating.

Lee arrived in Rome on Wednesday (local time) to continue his European tour. That day alone, he sent out eight posts on X (formerly Twitter) and two on Facebook, keeping close tabs on domestic and international affairs despite a packed travel schedule.

On rural basic income, Lee sought to build public support for expanding the program. He wrote: "Even with a two-year pilot introduction of rural basic income, the results are already this significant — imagine how much greater the impact would be if it were made permanent and the amount raised." He argued that a surge in special rural tax revenue justified expanding the basic income project, calling it a move that would deliver multiple benefits at once.

Lee also shared a polling result showing his job approval at 50.4 percent following the local elections, writing, "I am sorry, fellow citizens." It marked the first time since taking office that he had publicly apologized in connection with his approval rating. He added that he would "humbly accept the people's sober judgment."

Turning to a protest in Jamsil over a ballot shortage during the elections, where an assault on a police officer was reported, Lee said officers on the scene were "citizens in uniform" and called the incident "something I simply cannot understand or condone."

Political observers say Lee is using his overseas platform to shift the domestic narrative following the local elections. Eom Gyeong-yeong, director of the Era Management Research Institute, offered a mixed assessment. "It is positive in the sense that he is broadening and deepening direct communication with the public," Eom said, "but there also seems to be a desire to boost his share of the news cycle — to bury the negative sentiment coming out of the local elections and the first-anniversary press conference under a stream of new messages."