Lee reaffirms pledge to improve people's livelihoods

President Lee Jae Myung, left, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung offer Chuseok holiday greetings to the people, in this photo captured from Lee's social media account Tuesday. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung reaffirmed his pledge to focus on improving people's livelihoods Tuesday, a day after the nation celebrated the Chuseok holiday.

"With a humble heart, I promise again that I will more carefully look after the people's present and the future of their livelihoods," Lee wrote on Instagram as he shared photos of him and first lady Kim Hea Kyung in traditional Korean attire to mark the nation's fall harvest festival.

He said he would commit to such efforts even if it could mean putting important things on the line or risking finger pointing and misunderstanding.

Lee's comments come as Korea and the United States are currently undergoing tariff negotiations.

It also came after the main opposition People Power Party criticized his appearance last night on JTBC's cooking show "Please Take Care of My Refrigerator," where he promoted Korean cuisine.

The recording of the episode featuring Lee and his wife took place amid an outage of online government services due to a fire at a state data center late last month.