Biography Flash: Lee Jae-myung Blends K-Culture, Statecraft & Apologies in Whirlwind Week cover art

Biography Flash: Lee Jae-myung Blends K-Culture, Statecraft & Apologies in Whirlwind Week

Biography Flash: Lee Jae-myung Blends K-Culture, Statecraft & Apologies in Whirlwind Week

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 Lee Jae-myung Biography Flash a weekly Biography.

In the whirlwind of the past few days for President Lee Jae-myung, the headlines are all about cultural diplomacy, political theater, and one very highly-rated prime-time TV appearance. Let’s start with what is lighting up both traditional and social media. Fresh off the Chuseok holiday, Lee and First Lady Kim Hye Kyung grabbed national attention by appearing on JTBC’s “Please Take Care of My Refrigerator,” marking his first return to variety television in eight years. That episode, aired on October 6, not only broke the show’s all-time ratings record with 8.9 percent viewership according to Chosun Ilbo, but it also sparked a national conversation about the blending of politics and pop culture. The couple showcased iconic Korean ingredients and Lee made his case for promoting Korean food as a new export, telling viewers on-air that “K-pop and dramas are vital, but at the heart of it all is food” and voicing the power of K-food abroad, as covered by The Korea Times.

But the good vibes were quickly mixed with political controversy. The main opposition People Power Party slammed the timing of the Chuseok episode, pointing out it was filmed just two days after a fire at a critical government data center caused a national network outage—a crisis that the PPP insists Lee responded to too slowly. In response, the presidential office released a minute-by-minute breakdown of Lee's post-UN return, emphasizing that the show taping was part of a strategic soft-power campaign bridging K-culture and statecraft. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok defended Lee publicly, reminding critics the president was also managing major trade talks and data recovery efforts.

On social, Lee doubled down, posting multiple times on Instagram and X. He reaffirmed his pledge to focus on citizens’ livelihoods, promising—with visible humility—to “give my all” for Korea’s future, even if it means enduring criticism. And in a more playful pop-culture moment, Lee posted a photo taken with a virtual BTS RM at the launch of the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, catching even RM himself off guard when he responded, “Oh my god. Is this photoshopped?” on fan platform Weverse.

Outside the spectacle, Lee delivered a formal apology for past abuses in South Korea’s foreign adoption program, posting heartfelt remarks acknowledging the harm done to adoptees, as widely reported by ABC News.

Riding the cultural diplomacy theme, teasers for the upcoming APEC 2025 feature Lee in a cinematic cameo, with K-pop legend G-Dragon, as a “parking marshal” guiding Korea’s global fortunes—another buzzy campaign underlining his administration’s blend of heritage, modernity, and PR savvy as reported by Times of India.

All of this comes as Lee continues major negotiations with the U.S. over tariffs and maintains a packed business agenda, but it’s the drama around that refrigerator and the ratings record that’s likely to linger in the public imagination.

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