President Lee Jae-myung and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung visited Bansong Market in Seongsan-gu, Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province on Saturday to meet with merchants and check on prices and public sentiment.
When one citizen expressed surprise, saying "I just watched the March 15 Uprising commemoration ceremony on TV—how are you here already?", President Lee replied, "I flew here."
Presidential Deputy Spokesperson Ahn Gwi-ryeong announced the surprise market visit in a written briefing. The president visited the market, a representative traditional market in the region, after attending the 66th anniversary ceremony of the March 15 Uprising, where he was greeted with cheers and applause from merchants and residents.
"Throughout the market, various voices of support rang out, including 'This is the real Republic of Korea,' 'We love you,' 'We respect you,' 'We support you,' 'Stay healthy,' and 'You did so well on your overseas trip,'" Ahn said.
The presidential couple shook hands and exchanged high-fives with visitors. They bent down to make eye contact with children. The couple purchased strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, greens, and green onions using Onnuri gift certificates and cash. First Lady Kim, who has shown interest in K-beauty, also stopped by a cosmetics shop in the market to purchase cotton pads and face masks.
President Lee sampled fish-shaped pastries and tteokbokki on the spot before purchasing them, saying "This is delicious" and "You should promote this now." First Lady Kim offered twisted doughnuts she had purchased to children while cheering on merchants and citizens.
Ahn said the First Lady personally tidied up displayed fruit that was at risk of falling due to the crowd while President Lee took photos with citizens. The couple then had lunch at a restaurant in the market, dining on braised kimchi and rolled omelet, and listened to on-the-ground concerns by asking Merchant Association Chairman Jang No-yong about the market's history and recent sales conditions.
