Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations and communication, briefs reporters at the Cheong Wa Dae press center on Tuesday about President Lee Jae Myung’s upcoming news conference on Friday. (Yonhap)
Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations and communication, briefs reporters at the Cheong Wa Dae press center on Tuesday about President Lee Jae Myung’s upcoming news conference on Friday. (Yonhap)

President Lee Jae Myung will hold a news conference Friday to address key domestic and foreign challenges, as his approval ratings continue to slide.

"This news conference will be an opportunity to convey the president's firm commitment to reform, his governing principle of putting people's livelihoods first and a message of stronger national unity," Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations and communication, said during a press briefing Tuesday.

"In addition, he will set out and explain to the public his clear position and direction on major pending issues."

Seong further explained that the news conference will proceed with a "tight focus on current issues" across two broad areas: politics and diplomacy, and policy and the economy.

The event is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at Yeongbingwan on the Cheong Wa Dae grounds in Seoul and run for about 90 minutes, with around 150 local and foreign reporters expected to attend.

Unlike Lee's six previous major press appearances, Friday's news conference will not be tied to a milestone, a new year or the outcome of an overseas trip, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

Lee last addressed reporters on June 19 in a briefing on the results of his Europe and Group of Seven trip, less than two weeks after holding a news conference on June 8 to mark his first anniversary in office. His earlier news conferences were held to mark his first 30 and 100 days in office, the first anniversary of the Dec. 3 martial law declaration and the start of 2026.

The timing puts particular weight on the appearance as he enters a more difficult stretch of his presidency.

Recent polls have underscored the political pressure. A Gallup Korea survey released Friday put Lee's job approval rating at 38 percent, down 2 percentage points from the previous week and the lowest since he took office. Fifty-one percent disapproved of his performance, with real estate policy and personnel appointments cited most frequently among the reasons for negative assessments.

A separate Realmeter survey released Monday put Lee's approval rating at 33.8 percent, down 3.6 percentage points from the previous week and marking a ninth consecutive weekly decline.

The erosion in public support has coincided with mounting pressure over Lee's latest Cabinet reshuffle. Rep. Yong Hye-in withdrew Sunday as the nominee for gender equality and family minister after controversy over her plan to retain her proportional-representation seat in the National Assembly, while Justice Minister nominee Rep. Kim Seung-won has faced scrutiny over alleged lobbying activities to expedite regulatory review of a COVID-19 treatment in 2021.

Lee is also expected to face questions over a politically sensitive debate surrounding constitutional revision and presidential reelection, after opposition parties pressed him to state more explicitly whether he would seek another term should the Constitution be amended.

Foreign policy and security issues are likely to figure prominently as well.

Seoul is weighing what military contribution it could make to international efforts to safeguard navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, with public opinion polls showing a majority of South Koreans oppose the deployment of military personnel or assets to the strait.

Simultaneously, Seoul is seeking to conclude negotiations with Washington over its $350 billion investment commitment, with the goal of announcing its first investment project later this week. Another key pillar of the bilateral Joint Fact Sheet, nuclear cooperation in the security negotiations, has made little progress since an initial round of talks in early June.

The timing also places news conference between two major stretches of summit diplomacy. Lee will have just wrapped up a series of meetings with the leaders of five Central Asian countries, culminating in the inaugural Korea-Central Asia summit in Seoul on Wednesday, and is expected to travel to New York next week for the UN General Assembly, where he could meet with US President Donald Trump.


dagyumji@heraldcorp.com