Overseas trips add to debate over Korea's shifting political standards

President Lee Jae Myung’s overseas travel, golf preparations and use of the presidential plane have renewed debate in South Korea over political standards and taxpayer-funded presidential privileges. On Friday, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac defended Lee’s frequent trips and first lady Kim Hea Kyung’s attendance as diplomatic practice, while opposition lawmakers questioned their cost and value. The dispute echoes earlier arguments in which the Democratic Party of Korea and People Power Party took opposing positions on presidential travel and golf under different administrations. The Code One aircraft debate has also shifted across administrations, although the Boeing 747-8i introduced in January 2022 remains in use.

Rep. Lee Jin-sook of the People Power Party counted 14 trips covering 23 countries during Lee’s first 484 days in office, more frequently than his two predecessors over the same period.

At an Oct. 29 parliamentary audit, PPP Rep. Kim Seung-su criticized the frequency of Lee’s travel amid economic hardship and questioned the first lady’s accompaniment.

Lee responded on X on Saturday by citing his demanding schedules and diplomatic results and rejecting suggestions that the trips were tourism.

In November 2023, Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Hong Ki-won contrasted Yoon Suk Yeol’s overseas travel budget with cuts to spending on people’s livelihoods.

The Boeing 747-8i entered service in January 2022 after the government continued leasing rather than buying a new presidential plane. It served Yoon Suk Yeol and remains in use under Lee.

Published Nov 1, 2026 3:34 pm KST

Updated Nov 1, 2026 3:39 pm KST

Parties reverse arguments on presidential travel, golf, official jet, after power transition

President Lee Jae Myung bows beside first lady Kim Hea Kyung before boarding the presidential plane at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Sept. 21, to attend the U.N. General Assembly in New York and to make a state visit to Mexico. It was Lee’s latest overseas trip. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung’s overseas trips have again drawn attention to Korea’s shifting political standards, adding to a familiar cycle of disputes over presidential golf and the presidential plane whenever power passes between conservative and liberal administrations.

The controversies center on taxpayer money and the public's attitudes toward presidential privilege, with governing parties defending certain activities as necessary for diplomacy or official duties and the opposition calling them wasteful or excessive — arguments that often switch sides under successive administrations.

In the latest controversy, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac on Friday defended the frequency of Lee’s overseas trips accompanied by first lady Kim Hea Kyung.

“Korea’s international standing requires its president to attend regular multilateral gatherings and bilateral visits,” Wi said. “Spouses also accompany leaders as an established diplomatic practice.”

Wi’s defense followed an Oct. 1 analysis by Rep. Lee Jin-sook of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).

It counted 14 trips covering 23 countries in Lee’s first 484 days in office, which was more frequent than his two predecessors — conservative Yoon Suk Yeol and liberal Moon Jae-in — over the same period.

Yoon was president from May 2022 to April 2025 and Moon from May 2017 to May 2022.

At an Oct. 29 parliamentary audit, fellow PPP Rep. Kim Seung-su cited economic hardship in criticizing the frequency of the president’s travel and separately questioned the first lady’s accompaniment.

Lee responded on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday by stressing his demanding schedules and diplomatic results, saying “pigs see only pigs” in rejecting suggestions of tourism.

The PPP countered on Sunday by questioning the president's achievements. In particular, the party recalled that the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) had condemned Yoon’s travel spending as wasteful and his use of contingency funds as undermining parliamentary budget oversight.

The reversal was evident in November 2023, when Rep. Hong Ki-won of the DPK contrasted Yoon’s overseas travel budget with cuts to spending on people’s livelihoods.

Then-Prime Minister Han Duck-soo rejected the suggestion of waste, while PPP lawmakers defended diplomacy-related expenditures.

Golf has followed a similar pattern.

In November 2024, the DPK dismissed explanations that Yoon was practicing golf to prepare for diplomacy with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump following his reelection. The party urged Yoon to visit people struggling economically instead.

With Lee preparing for a possible round of golf with Trump on the occasion of the U.S.-hosted G20 summit in Miami in December, the PPP questioned why preparations ridiculed under Yoon were now justified as diplomacy.

Disputes over the presidential plane, known as Code One, stretch back further, with the need to replace aging planes and upgrade onboard facilities.

The conservative Grand National Party, a predecessor of the PPP, opposed a proposal to buy a new jet under President Roh Moo-hyun in 2006, citing the needs of impoverished households.

When Roh’s conservative successor Lee Myung-bak pursued a purchase in 2008, it stirred objections from the main opposition Democratic Party, a predecessor of the DPK.

Under Moon in 2018, DPK lawmakers argued that buying a new plane could improve safety and reduce long-term costs compared with leasing.

The government ultimately continued leasing, and the Boeing 747-8i introduced in January 2022 subsequently served Yoon and remains in use under Lee.

“The Code One lease shows how investments made by one administration can serve several successors. Nevertheless, parties often oppose such spending for political advantage rather than assess its long-term value,” a political commentator said on condition of anonymity.

韩国总统李在明的海外访问、高尔夫球准备以及使用总统专机等事宜，再次引发韩国国内关于政治标准和纳税人资助的总统特权的辩论。周五，国家安全顾问魏圣乐为李在明频繁出访以及第一夫人金喜京的陪同辩护，称其为外交惯例，而反对党议员则质疑这些活动的成本和价值。这场争论与此前韩国民主党和国民力量党在不同政府执政期间就总统出访和高尔夫球问题持相反立场的情况如出一辙。尽管2022年1月投入使用的波音747-8i飞机仍在服役，但关于“一号专机”的争论也随着政府的更迭而变化。

国民力量党议员李镇淑统计，李在上任后的前484天里，出访了23个国家，共出访14次，比他的两位前任在同一时期出访的次数都多。

10月29日，人民进步党议员金承洙在国会接受审计时，批评了李明博在经济困难时期频繁出行，并质疑第一夫人是否陪同出行。

李在周六通过X回应了有关他行程繁忙、外交成果丰硕的说法，并驳斥了这些访问是旅游的说法。

2023年11月，韩国民主党议员洪基元将尹锡烈的海外旅行预算与削减民生开支进行了对比。

波音747-8i于2022年1月投入使用，此前韩国政府继续选择租赁而非购买新的总统专机。该飞机曾为尹锡烈总统服务，并在李显龙总统任内继续服役。

发布于2026年11月1日下午3:34（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年11月1日下午3:39（韩国标准时间）

权力交接后，各方就总统出行、高尔夫、公务机等问题改变了立场。

9月21日，韩国总统李在明在京畿道城南市首尔空军基地登上总统专机前，与夫人金喜京一同鞠躬致意。此次专机将用于出席纽约联合国大会并对墨西哥进行国事访问。这是李在明总统近期的一次海外访问。（韩联社）

李在明总统的海外访问再次引起人们对韩国政治标准变化的关注，也加剧了保守派和自由派政府权力交接时围绕总统高尔夫球和总统专机的争论这一熟悉的循环。

争议的焦点在于纳税人的钱和公众对总统特权的态度，执政党辩称某些活动是外交或履行公务所必需的，而反对党则称这些活动是浪费或过度的——这些论点在历届政府中经常发生转变。

在最近的争议中，国家安全顾问魏圣乐周五为李明博携夫人金喜京频繁出访海外辩护。

“韩国的国际地位要求其总统定期出席多边会议和双边访问，”魏先生说。“配偶陪同领导人也是一项既定的外交惯例。”

Wi 的辩护是在主要反对党国民力量党 (PPP) 议员李镇淑于 10 月 1 日发表分析之后进行的。

据统计，李在上任后的前 484 天里，共出访了 23 个国家，出访次数达 14 次，比他的两位前任——保守派尹锡烈和自由派文在寅——同期出访次数更多。

尹锡悦于 2022 年 5 月至 2025 年 4 月担任总统，文在寅于 2017 年 5 月至 2022 年 5 月担任总统。

10 月 29 日，在国会的一次审计中，同属人民进步党的议员金承洙以经济困难为由批评总统出行过于频繁，并单独质疑了第一夫人的陪同情况。

李在周六通过 X（前身为 Twitter）回应了有关旅游业的建议，强调了他繁忙的日程和外交成果，并称“猪眼里只有猪”。

人民进步党周日反驳称，质疑总统的政绩。该党特别指出，执政的共同民主党曾谴责尹锡悦的出行开支浪费，并指责他动用应急资金破坏了国会的预算监督。

2023 年 11 月，这一转变显而易见。当时，民主党议员洪基元将尹锡悦的海外旅行预算与削减民生开支进行了对比。

时任总理韩德洙驳斥了浪费的说法，而人民进步党议员则为外交相关支出辩护。

高尔夫运动也遵循了类似的模式。

2024年11月，朝鲜民主主义人民党驳斥了尹锡悦练习高尔夫球是为了准备与当选美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在其连任后开展外交活动的解释。该党敦促尹锡悦将精力投入到帮助经济困难的民众。

李在准备于12月美国主办的迈阿密G20峰会期间与特朗普进行可能的高尔夫球赛之际，人民进步党质疑，为什么在尹锡悦时期被嘲笑的准备工作现在却被美化为外交手段。

关于总统专机（代号“一号”）的争议由来已久，可以追溯到需要更换老旧飞机和升级机上设施的时候。

保守的大国家党（人民进步党的前身）在2006年卢武铉总统执政期间反对购买新喷气式飞机的提议，理由是贫困家庭需要飞机。

2008 年，卢武铉的保守派继任者李明博试图收购某公司时，引起了主要反对党民主党（即朝鲜民主主义人民党的前身）的反对。

2018 年文在寅执政期间，朝鲜民主主义人民党议员认为，与租赁相比，购买新飞机可以提高安全性并降低长期成本。

政府最终继续租赁，2022 年 1 月引进的波音 747-8i 随后由尹锡悦执政，并在李健熙执政期间继续使用。

一位不愿透露姓名的政治评论员表示：“‘第一号租约’表明，一届政府的投资可以惠及多届继任政府。然而，各党派往往出于政治利益反对此类支出，而不是评估其长期价值。”