President Lee Jae Myung Says, "If Reform Moves Too Fast, It Will Face a Backlash"... Targeting Rhyu Si-min?

【Financial News Mexico City (Mexico) = Reporter Choi Jong-geun】President Lee Jae Myung, who is on a state visit to Mexico, said on the 24th (local time) that, regarding reform efforts, "One should exercise appropriate restraint, but when one thinks the situation has changed, one ends up charging ahead even faster," adding, "That means going too fast, too far and too hastily, only to face a backlash." He also reiterated that "there will absolutely be no going beyond June 2, 2030" amid the recent controversy over a constitutional amendment concerning consecutive terms, once again ruling out the possibility of extending his term.
At a dinner meeting with Korean community members in Mexico City that day, President Lee explained the difficulty of pursuing reform, saying, "I once talked about the French Revolution, but when a revolutionary situation arises, there is a tendency to go overboard."
He continued, "You need to exercise a reasonable degree of restraint as you continue down a path, but when you think circumstances have changed, you end up charging ahead even faster. You fail to exercise restraint. You go too fast, too far and too hastily, only to face a backlash."
In particular, President Lee brought up the debate over abolishing the National Security Act during the Roh Moo-hyun administration. He said, "In the past, people searched homes, and there were books designated as banned books—books that said, 'You must not read this.' People were punished merely for possessing them. Yet that provision remains in force. The National Security Act."
He continued, "There was an opportunity to get rid of it. The ruling and opposition parties reached an agreement: 'Let's get rid of this. Since abolishing the National Security Act in its entirety is too much, let's at least delete a few of these toxic provisions.' The ruling and opposition parties had nearly reached an agreement. But then someone suddenly began to object. 'It should be abolished. Where in the world do you see abolishing only half of it?' It sounds good."
President Lee explained, "Because the other side opposed it, saying, 'The National Security Act cannot be abolished in its entirety,' it ultimately did not happen."
Some interpreted the remarks as targeting writer Rhyu Si-min, who strongly advocated abolishing the National Security Act at the time. Attention is focused on President Lee's comments because the presidential office criticized Rhyu's recent remarks the previous day, saying, "We regret that they distort the president's commitment to prosecutorial reform in a way that differs from the facts."
President Lee said, "So that provision is still in force, and recently someone was subjected to a search and seizure because of it. Similar situations still occur today. People make excessive claims to demonstrate how uncompromising they are." He added, "It may look impressive because it is so uncompromising, but it is not easy to produce good results in practice."
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