Lee Jae Myung faces his moment of truth
Politics can be remarkably unforgiving. Just a few months ago, President Lee Jae Myung appeared to be governing with extraordinary confidence. He televised live Cabinet meetings, openly reprimanded ministers and insisted that his administration would be guided by pragmatism rather than ideology. He spoke confidently about revitalizing the stock market so that ordinary citizens could receive regular dividend income from their investments. He accused the previous administration of undermining democracy and the constitutional order, presenting his own election as the beginning of a new political era. His consistently strong approval ratings seemed to validate that image. However, public expectations have a way of colliding with political reality. The political atmosphere changed rapidly after the local elections. Lee’s ruling party failed to achieve the results it had anticipated, and the outcome of the Seoul mayoral election sent unmistakable signals that public sentiment was beginning to shift. Matters became even more complicated when controversy erupted over failures in election adm
