President Lee: “‘Left-elegantly,’ a play on words used since the Moon presidency ... Blocking abusive accounts is only natural”

[Financial News] President Lee Jae-myung said on the 11th, “Accounts that sling filth and disrupt the public sphere must be blocked to maintain a healthy public sphere.”
Lee wrote this on X (formerly Twitter): “It is only natural to drive out the door ruffians who come into someone else’s yard and hurl verbal abuse and profanity.”
Lee said, “I think of the late Mayor Park Won-soon. He was a brilliant idea man who always emphasized and enjoyed communicating with citizens. He was the one who made me realize the importance of communication and of social networking services (SNS) as a means of communication.”
Lee continued, “But one day, when we met at the Seoul mayor’s official residence, Mayor Park lamented that he could not read the comments on his social media account. He said they were so inundated with verbal abuse and profanity that he simply could not read them. I asked why he did not block them, and he replied, ‘If you say you’re communicating, how can you block people?’ Leaving verbal abuse, profanity and lowbrow smears unchecked was like bad money driving out good: even normal accounts were reluctant to join in, and the comment section ended up a garbage dump.”
Lee said he had advised Mayor Park: “Slinging filth in a forum for communication through verbal abuse, profanity and mockery is not communication; it is interference with communication. Blocking such filth actually makes genuine communication possible. I block every abusive account I see, and if it gets bad enough, I even report it.” He added, “I understand that former Mayor Park later blocked and cleaned up malicious accounts.”
He added, “I don’t block people simply for expressing opposing views or criticizing. Opinions expressed with dignity and courtesy are always welcome, whether elegantly or ‘left-elegantly.’ For the record, ‘left-elegantly’ wasn’t a term used by Ilbe; it was used in the democratic reform camp starting in the days when Moon Jae-in was president, and is a playful twist on the word ‘elegantly.’”
He also said, “Even in this harsh and busy world, I hope you’ll occasionally take time to look up at the clear sky, look around you, and enjoy a little wit, humor and playful joking. Gravitas, seriousness and authority are important virtues, but let’s also be wary of taking things too seriously and treating dramas like documentaries.”
[email protected] Choi Jong-geun Reporter