President Lee Jae Myung. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung. [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung pushed back Saturday against opposition criticism that he travels abroad too frequently, saying, "As the saying goes, a Buddha sees a Buddha and a pig sees a pig — people only see as much as they know, so please understand."

Lee made the remarks while reposting on X, formerly Twitter, a message from a user arguing that a president's overseas trips are not mere tourism.

"From the perspective of someone who thinks a presidential overseas trip means taking photos without any work or preparation, showing off, and leisurely drinking, shopping and sightseeing, even a trip packed with intensive advance preparation, long-haul flights, a schedule with not a single half-day free, and a workload so grueling that IV drips and nosebleeds are routine — even that can look like a vacation," Lee wrote.

Lee added that the traveling press corps accompanying presidents, both current and former, would know better than anyone the difference in schedules, workload and results between administrations.

The criticism came after People Power Party lawmaker Kim Seung-su said at Thursday's national audit of the Presidential Secretariat and National Security Office, held by the National Assembly's Steering Committee, that Lee had made 14 trips to 23 countries.

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said it was "not fair" to raise objections about the frequency of the trips or the first lady's participation, adding that South Korea's rising international standing means "there are multiple multilateral occasions throughout the year that our head of state must attend."


sang@heraldcorp.com