President Lee Jae-myung on Monday criticized domestic media outlets for soliciting foreign government opinions on South Korea's internal affairs, asking "Isn't it the normal role of the press to raise concerns about foreign interference when foreign governments get involved in domestic matters?"
The remarks came after some Korean media outlets sparked controversy by asking the White House for its position on former President Yoon Suk-yeol's life sentence on insurrection charges.
"The fundamental problem is that some Korean media are asking foreign governments for opinions on domestic matters," President Lee wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "Why would they ask a foreign government for its position on a domestic matter, especially a judicial ruling that is independent from politics?" he questioned sharply.
He added, "I'm curious whether they only asked the United States about Korea's praetorian military coup trial, or whether they also asked Japan, China, European countries and others."
A day earlier, one media outlet cited a senior White House official as expressing concern that "U.S. companies and religious figures are being targeted in South Korea for political reasons." The outlet added analysis that this comment addressed "suppression of U.S. businesses and religious figures" as a separate issue unrelated to Yoon's sentencing.
President Lee also shared a follow-up report from the same outlet. In contrast to the previous day's response, the White House stated, "This is a matter for Korea's judicial system, and the United States respects the independence of democratic institutions."
The shift in tone appears to reflect the White House's judgment that evaluating a foreign government's independent judicial process could generate unnecessary controversy.