Cheong Wa Dae says Lee used Gemini to check legal facts, not to ask AI about governing
In short
Cheong Wa Dae said on 22 October that President Lee Jae-myung used the AI tool Gemini as a way to look up constitutional and legal provisions, not to ask it about running the state. The statement answered criticism of Lee's X post of 21 October on whether the heads of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the Prosecution Service may attend cabinet meetings. Cheong Wa Dae said the views in the post were Lee's own.
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Cheong Wa Dae said on 22 October that President Lee Jae-myung used the generative AI tool Gemini as a means of finding facts and did not ask it about running the state. The statement responded to criticism of a post Lee made on X on 21 October about whether the head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the head of the Prosecution Service may attend cabinet meetings. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 ]
In the post, titled "I asked Gemini", Lee introduced provisions of the Government Organisation Act and wrote that the argument against attendance was "unconstitutional sophistry". According to CBS NoCut News, he said that under the constitution and the Government Organisation Act the president directs and supervises the heads of central administrative bodies, who may therefore attend cabinet meetings. The media and the conservative opposition criticised him for citing Gemini. [ 3 , 5 ]
Sung Ki-hong (성기홍), Cheong Wa Dae's senior secretary for public communication, spoke to reporters at the Chunchugwan press room. He said Lee checked the facts of legal provisions with AI, and that such provisions can be confirmed quickly and do not change according to who asks. Asked whether the post was a wholesale transcription of Gemini's answer, a Cheong Wa Dae official said it was not and that the phrase "unconstitutional sophistry" was Lee's own thinking. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
Sung said the content matched what Lee said at the 13 October cabinet meeting, which was broadcast live. According to CBS NoCut News, Lee said then that he found the criticism hard to accept and that, under Articles 5, 11 and 12 of the Government Organisation Act, state administration is under the president and the prime minister. Lee also said he does not take part in handling detailed cases but that sharing the general direction of state affairs is important. [ 3 , 5 ]
Sung also said the new Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and Prosecution Service are part of the government and so fall among those who attend cabinet meetings. He said cabinet meetings will not deal at all with direction of investigations or prosecutions in specific individual cases, and that the government is firmly working for fairness and political neutrality of investigations and for independence of prosecution decisions. [ 2 , 5 ]
Sung asked whether it fitted the facts to report the post as an unprecedented case of presenting an AI answer as the basis of state administration. CBS NoCut News reported that he rejected the criticism that attendance would lead to presidential direction of investigations, saying that Lee's instructions to the investigation agency were not investigation direction. The CBS NoCut News text breaks off during Cheong Wa Dae's reply to the argument that the prosecutor general customarily did not attend cabinet meetings. [ 3 , 5 ]
Why it matters
The dispute is about whether the president relied on an AI answer to support a position on the cabinet attendance of investigation and prosecution chiefs. Cheong Wa Dae says the position matches what Lee said at the 13 October cabinet meeting, and critics in the media and the conservative opposition have objected.
Key facts
- On 21 October Lee Jae-myung posted on X under the title "I asked Gemini", citing provisions of the Government Organisation Act and calling the argument against attendance "unconstitutional sophistry". [ 3 , 5 ]
- On 22 October Cheong Wa Dae said Lee used AI as a tool to find facts and that claims he relies on AI to run the state are a distortion. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 ]
- Sung Ki-hong (성기홍), Cheong Wa Dae's senior secretary for public communication, spoke to reporters at the Chunchugwan press room. [ 2 , 5 ]
- Sung said the post matched Lee's remarks at the 13 October cabinet meeting, which were broadcast live. [ 3 , 5 ]
- Sung said cabinet meetings will not deal with investigation or prosecution direction in specific individual cases. [ 2 , 5 ]
- A Cheong Wa Dae official said the post was not a wholesale copy of Gemini's answer and that the phrase "unconstitutional sophistry" was Lee's own thinking. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Cheong Wa Dae said on 22 October that Lee did not ask AI about state affairs but used it to check facts in constitutional and legal provisions. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 ]
- Cheong Wa Dae said the new Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and Prosecution Service are part of the government and fall under those who attend cabinet meetings, and that cabinet meetings will not handle direction of investigations or prosecutions in specific cases. [ 2 , 5 ]
- Cheong Wa Dae said Lee's post was consistent with his statement at the 13 October cabinet meeting. [ 3 , 5 ]
Still unclear
- Whether Lee's post reproduced Gemini's answer in full. Only a Cheong Wa Dae official, quoted by Yonhap, said it did not; the documents do not show the post's full text or Gemini's answer.
- Whether attendance by the investigation and prosecution chiefs could lead to presidential direction of investigations and prosecutions. Cheong Wa Dae rejected this criticism; the documents do not give the critics' own statements.
- Cheong Wa Dae's reply to the argument that the prosecutor general customarily did not attend cabinet meetings. The text of the CBS NoCut News article is cut off before the reply is given.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Dong-A Ilbo published a breaking item on the Cheong Wa Dae statement that Lee checked constitutional and legal facts and did not ask AI about state affairs. [ 1 ]
- Dong-A Ilbo reported Sung Ki-hong's remarks to reporters at the Chunchugwan press room. [ 2 ]
- Yonhap published its report on the Cheong Wa Dae position. [ 3 ]
- CBS NoCut News published its report on the Cheong Wa Dae rebuttal. [ 5 ]