President Lee Jae-myung Defends AI Citations in Cabinet Dispute
President Lee Jae-myung defended his use of Gemini artificial intelligence tool to counter opposition criticism over Cabinet meeting attendance rules. The controversy centers on whether the chief of the Major Crime Investigation Agency should sit in on public Cabinet sessions.
Opposition lawmakers criticized the president for relying on AI to ground his executive decisions after Lee posted on X that he had asked Gemini about the legal standing of excluding the agency head, The Hankyoreh reported. Lee pushed back sharply against the criticism on Tuesday, writing that he did not cite the AI out of ignorance, but rather to highlight how low-level and ungrounded the opposition’s logic was.
Lee cites constitutional duty to oversee government bureaus
Lee argued that claiming the Major Crime Investigation Agency should not attend public Cabinet meetings contradicts the Constitution, the Government Organization Act, and basic administrative sense. Every government bureau, whether it is an investigative office, a meteorological administration, or a fire service, operates under the direct command of the president and prime minister, according to his statement.
“Exercising command and supervision over state affairs is both the president’s authority and duty,” Lee wrote on X. He added that abandoning oversight of the investigative agency would constitute a violation of the Constitution and the Government Organization Act, amounting to an impeachable offense and potential criminal negligence.
Public Versus Private Ministerial Direction
The presidential pushback questioned whether critics expect the administration to violate the law by completely ignoring the investigative agency or by issuing directives secretly behind closed doors. Lee dismissed the notion that excluding agency heads from public meetings is a valid way to ensure political neutrality, calling it logic-free opposition.
The dispute highlights ongoing political friction over executive oversight and the formal boundaries of ministerial participation in South Korea's top administrative forum. No further statements regarding adjustments to Cabinet seating rules have been released by the presidential office.
President Lee Jae-myung answered his critics with an AI chatbot. On October 21, he posted a Google Gemini response defending a controversial move: seating the heads of Korea's new prosecution and investigation agencies in his Cabinet meetings.Gemini's answer cited Article 11 of… pic.twitter.com/CZPQANsnpg
What specific AI tool did President Lee Jae-myung reference?
What specific AI tool did President Lee Jae-myung reference?
President Lee referenced Gemini AI when discussing the legal arguments surrounding Cabinet meeting attendance.
What does South Korea’s Government Organization Act state about bureau oversight?
The act specifies that all government bureaus and offices operate under the direct command and supervision of the president and the prime minister.
Where did President Lee publish his response regarding the AI controversy?
Lee published his counter-arguments and statements on his X account, addressing critics directly on the platform.
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