One month after taking office, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has demonstrated remarkable speed in running his government

It has been one month since South Korean President Lee Jae Myung took office on the 4th. On the 3rd, Lee held his first press conference since taking office and said, "I have been working hard every day for the past 30 days.
"It was time," he said. In South Korea, the presidential election was held on the 3rd of last month following the impeachment of former President Yoon Seok-yeol, who declared "emergency martial law" in December last year.
Lee (60) of the progressive Democratic Party of Korea was elected. He was inaugurated as the 21st president on the following day, the 4th. Normally, the inauguration ceremony takes place after the establishment of a transition committee, but this time, Yoon was removed from office midway through his term, and the inauguration ceremony took place after the transition committee was established.
Lee was inaugurated immediately after the presidential election, which was held following the election of the 1990 presidential election. His term of office is five years, until 2030.
The Yi clan was from Andong County (now North Gyeongsang Province) in the southeast.
(Andong City) Former member. He grew up in a poor family, and after graduating from elementary school, he worked as a boy factory worker while passing the examinations and obtaining middle and high school graduation qualifications. In 1986, he graduated from Chung-Ang University in Korea and became a lawyer.
He then served as mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, near Seoul, from July 2007 to March 2018, and as governor of Gyeonggi Province from July 2018 to October 2021.
In the last presidential election in 2022, he fought a fierce battle with former President Yoon until the very end, but lost by a narrow margin of about 240,000 votes. After that, he became the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea and was at the forefront of criticizing the Yoon administration.
He has long used tough words and actions against Japan, but recently he has stopped making tough statements against Japan. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea, and Lee has been discussing the differences in positions between the two countries.
Today, the 4th, marks one month since Lee took office. The news agency Yonhap News reported, "The first month of running the administration..."
"It is no exaggeration to say that unlike previous administrations, the current administration has been a succession of 'swift decisions.'" He continued, "Externally, it made a swift diplomatic debut, and domestically, it has implemented measures to stabilize national politics and restore the economy.
"I took the position without any hesitation," he said. Last month, Lee was invited to attend the G7 summit in Kananaskis, western Canada, marking his diplomatic debut.
During his visit to China, he discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in various areas, including the economy, with leaders from nine countries and regions. He also held the first Japan-Korea summit with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. During the meeting, Li commented on the relationship between the two countries, "It's like we're walking around in a garden.
"It is an inseparable relationship, like that of neighbors who share the same interests," he said, adding, "There are small differences and differences of opinion, but we can overcome these differences and move towards a relationship in which the two countries can cooperate with each other in various areas and be of service to each other."
Domestically, the selection of cabinet members was swiftly carried out. In South Korea, the president nominates cabinet candidates, who are then formally sworn in after a personnel hearing in the National Assembly.
The candidates for the first cabinet have almost been decided. Yonhap News reported that the Moon Jae-in administration, which was launched without a transition committee like the Lee Jae-myung administration, has finished nominating its ministerial candidates.
"The speed of this move is remarkable compared to the 54 days it took to appoint the prime minister," he explained. In addition, the National Assembly passed the prime ministerial nomination motion exclusively with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea on the 3rd, and Prime Minister Kim Min-seok was appointed as the new prime minister.
It was decided that he would become the first prime minister of the Lee administration. In addition, on the first day of his inauguration, Lee issued his first executive order to set up an "emergency economic inspection task force (TF)," and economic measures were implemented swiftly.
Public broadcaster KBS reported, "In just one month since taking office, he has completed almost all of the cabinet appointments and also handled G7 diplomacy, and is being praised for his strong driving force in stabilizing national affairs."
On June 30, polling company Realmeter released the results of a survey (conducted from June 23 to 27) that showed Lee's approval rating at 59.7%.
This was 0.4 points higher than the results. On the 3rd, Lee held a press conference one month before taking office. He said, "My top priority is to eliminate the pain of everyday life and build a country that can grow and soar again."
"Above all, I am doing my utmost to restore the shattered lives of the people," he said. He also mentioned Japan-South Korea relations, saying, "We will cooperate on security issues in response to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, as well as in economic areas."
"There are many things to do. We also have a lot of private exchanges, and we are very important to each other," he said. He then commented on the "shuttle diplomacy" in which the leaders of the two countries travel back and forth, saying, "I plan to go to Japan once at an early stage.
"However, Japan is busy with its elections and the date has not been decided. As neighboring countries, we would like to cooperate by visiting each other frequently when necessary to reduce misunderstandings and cooperate through dialogue," he said.
He expressed his desire to visit Japan at an early date.