Lee’s TV appearance sparks political legal dispute

President Lee Jae-myung’s appearance on JTBC’s variety show "Please Take Care of My Refrigerator" has sparked a legal clash between South Korea’s ruling and opposition parties. Three days after a fire disrupted the national computer network, the opposition People Power Party criticized Lee’s filming of the program as a “lost 48 hours,” prompting the Democratic Party to file a complaint against PPP leader Jang Dong-hyuk. The party responded by filing complaints with police against presidential office spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung and Democratic Party senior spokesperson Park Soo-hyun.

Political sources said the Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police on Oct. 7 against Jang for defamation over spreading false information. The presidential office had already provided a detailed account of Lee’s response to the National Information Resources Service fire, but Jang claimed on Facebook that Lee’s “48-hour whereabouts” were false.

Presidential office spokesperson Kim Nam-jun said in a written briefing on Oct. 4 that Lee held an emergency meeting at 10:50 a.m. on Sept. 28 with key officials to discuss countermeasures, then returned from the program recording to lead a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting at 5:30 p.m. A presidential official added that the opposition had “spread false information suggesting the president ignored the fire.”

The Democratic Party also filed a complaint on Oct. 5 against People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo, who first raised the allegation. Senior spokesperson Park criticized the move, saying the opposition “spread false information during Chuseok.”

The People Power Party called the complaints “an anti-constitutional act against democracy.” On Oct. 7, Jang said the filings against the opposition leader amounted to “political intimidation.” Lawmaker Joo filed complaints on Oct. 6 against spokespersons Kang and Park, accusing them of trying to “silence opposition lawmakers with complaint threats.”

Reacting to the controversy, Lee posted on Instagram on Oct. 7, saying he would accept criticism and misunderstanding if it served the public. Lee said in the message that his variety show appearance was intended to promote K-food during Chuseok.


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