President's new YouTube show unlikely to get message across as intended
President Lee Jae Myung speaks with former MBC news anchor Son Jung-eun during the first episode of President’s Y, a YouTube talk show, at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Wednesday. The show premiered Thursday evening. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae
Analysts doubt show will draw broader interest or boost public support
Political analysts expressed skepticism about President Lee Jae Myung’s new YouTube talk show, intended to strengthen communication with the public, saying it is unlikely to attract broader interest or win greater public support.
The program, President’s Y, debuted Thursday evening as a prerecorded one-on-one interview. The show aimed to offer more room to explain Lee’s views than posts on X, excerpts in news reports or YouTube channels run by Cheong Wa Dae.
Analysts said the first episode drew relatively few views despite the curiosity surrounding its debut, and that the key to better communication and higher approval ratings is not the platform or format, but rather more measured language.
“Considering the curiosity that comes with a launch, it is difficult to call that particularly high,” a political pundit said on condition of anonymity, referring to the episode’s roughly 300,000 views in the 12 hours after its 9 p.m. release on Thursday.
The count remained in the 350,000 range as of 3:30 p.m. Friday.
“It does not appear to have been especially successful in attracting attention,” the expert said, adding that 600,000 to 700,000 views would have indicated stronger initial interest.
Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University, said Lee’s decision to appear in a YouTube talk show seemed to reflect his dissatisfaction with media coverage, as well as his desire to seem more approachable.
“The president appears to think traditional media do not convey his intentions properly, so he needs to speak directly,” Shin said. “He probably wanted to build familiarity, strengthen communication and, through that, raise his approval rating.”
However, Shin doubted that the new outlet would significantly increase public support.
“He has been very active on social media, but that does not mean his approval rating has surged,” he said.
The professor went on to say that Lee could explain his intentions more clearly through more careful language, regardless of the medium.
“If the aim is to convey intentions that he believes the media has failed to reflect, that can be done with more measured wording,” he said.
The show’s interview format differs from the other presidential YouTube channels for official events, Cheong Wa Dae briefings and interviews with aides or government officials.
In the debut, hosted by former MBC news anchor Son Jung-eun, Lee defended his social media use, saying he reads insults and criticism. He rejected suggestions that he was trapped by algorithms showing content supporting him.
He described errors or inappropriate remarks exposed during livestreamed Cabinet meetings as tolerable and floated unannounced live broadcasts from his office.
Shin saw little difference between live and recorded appearances in conveying sincerity, while viewing the prerecorded format as less risky.
“Prerecorded broadcasts carry less risk,” he said, noting that Lee’s social media posts on policies and political issues were already generating controversy.
Cheong Wa Dae plans to release episodes every two to three weeks.