President Lee’s YouTube show ‘The President’s Y’ costs 17.03 million won per episode

[Financial News] President Lee Jae-myung’s YouTube program ‘The President’s Y,’ launched with the stated aim of communicating directly with the public, has been budgeted at 17.03 million won per episode, it has emerged.
According to The Chosun Ilbo and other outlets on the 9th, production plans submitted by the Public Policy Broadcasting Service (KTV) to the office of Kim Seung-soo, a People Power Party lawmaker, show that each episode of ‘The President’s Y’ costs a total of 17.03 million won: 4 million won for writers’ planning, 3.3 million won for overall editing, 3 million won for the producer-director, 2.2 million won for props, 1.78 million won for the host’s appearance, 1.65 million won for lighting and 1.1 million won for sound.
The program, planned as a four-episode series, has been allocated a total production budget of 68.12 million won. The budget for the first episode was approved under delegated authority by the head of KTV’s Online Content Department on the 5th, the day the program first aired.
The first episode was planned to focus on ‘Welfare and Growth,’ but the broadcast actually covered ‘Communication.’ Starting with the second episode, the program is set to cover, in order, ‘Inclusive Finance for Ordinary People (Economy),’ ‘Jobs for Future Generations (Livelihoods and Youth),’ and ‘Overcoming Regional Decline and Narrowing Disparities (Regional Development and Balance).’
During the first broadcast, hosted by former MBC announcer Son Jung-eun, President Lee responded to criticism that he should cut back on social media, saying, “That’s a valid point,” but adding, “To me, it sounds exactly like asking, ‘Why does the president go out to meet people in person?’ I believe there are people on social media, too. They are citizens of South Korea, and I often get ideas from there as well.”
On continuing to livestream Cabinet meetings, he said, “If Cabinet meetings had been open to the public, would martial law have been possible?” He added, “The president’s official work belongs to the people, and it should be shown to its owners.”
On how he plans to run future YouTube broadcasts, he said, “People have a preconceived notion that an edited broadcast doesn’t show the whole picture. That’s why I go live, even though it’s risky: to show you everything, right down to what’s inside.” He added, “I think it would be good to do some live broadcasts going forward,” and said, “I’m thinking about occasionally going live without warning from the presidential office, too.”
The ‘Y’ in the program’s name was chosen to convey President Lee’s intention to communicate in more diverse ways through YouTube, following X (formerly Twitter), and also to evoke the meaning of the English word ‘Why.’
The Blue House said it plans to continue airing the program every two to three weeks for the time being.
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter