Lee defends blocking abusive accounts and disputes origin of social-media pun

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung defended blocking abusive social-media accounts in posts on X on October 11. He said accounts that disrupt public discussion through insults should be blocked to maintain a healthy forum. Lee said he did not block people merely for expressing opposing views or criticism, and that opinions expressed with dignity and courtesy were welcome. He also reaffirmed his intention to continue communicating through social media, according to Korea Economic Daily. Yonhap described his comments as a response to criticism of his blocking of some users who had posted harshly worded comments. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]

Lee recalled a conversation with the late former Seoul mayor Park Won-soon, whom he credited with showing him the importance of social media for communicating with citizens. He said Park had complained that abusive comments made it impossible to read his replies but had been reluctant to block accounts because he valued communication. Lee said he had advised Park that insults and mockery obstructed communication rather than contributing to it. He said he himself blocked accounts spreading abuse or false information and reported severe cases. According to Yonhap, Lee added that he understood Park later blocked malicious accounts. [ 2 , 4 ]

Lee also rejected claims that "jwaahage (좌아하게)," an expression he recently used online, was an Ilbe term. He described it as a playful alteration of "uahage (우아하게)," meaning elegantly, used by the democratic-reform camp since Moon Jae-in's presidency. Korea Economic Daily reported that broadcaster Kim Eo-jun (김어준) had claimed the expression came from Ilbe and that Lee had used it without knowing that origin. The newspaper said the controversy followed Lee's use of the phrase while sharing a supporter's post on October 1. Yonhap explained that the pun replaces the word's first syllable with the character for left. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]