KB News Desk
Public joins policy briefings, puts questions directly to Lee
President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday urged the country’s data agency to serve as the nation’s chief data officer while calling for broader use of artificial intelligence to identify and counter fake news and misinformation.
Lee also floated the idea of elevating the status of the Ministry of Data and Statistics from the current vice ministerial level to a ministerial-level agency while convening the first session of a second round of briefings from all ministries and government agencies aimed at conducting an interim review of the progress made during the first half of the year.
“What is the most essential element of an AI society — its raw material, so to speak? Isn’t it data? No matter how advanced the technology is, it cannot do anything without data,” Lee said, emphasizing the importance of the Ministry of Data and Statistics in achieving South Korea’s vision of becoming a global leader in artificial intelligence.
“The Ministry of Data and Statistics should not operate like the former Statistics Korea, merely managing statistics or looking up objective facts, but should instead approach its work as the Republic of Korea’s CDO,” he added, referring to South Korea by its official name.
The Ministry of Data and Statistics was launched in October 2025 under the Office of the Prime Minister, replacing Statistics Korea and marking the agency’s first major overhaul in 35 years since its establishment in 1990.
Lee further urged the ministry to harness AI more systematically and proactively in combating fake news.
“Fake news is now wreaking havoc across the world, creating a hostile and confrontational culture that is serious enough to tear communities apart, isn’t it?” Lee said.
Lee underscored the importance of real-time fact-checking, citing a recent local media report that claimed the rifle he used during a live-fire exercise while visiting a Marine Corps unit on Yeonpyeong Island last month had not been sufficiently supplied to frontline troops.
“The rifle in question has been issued to 170,000 members of the South Korean military and is already in widespread use. If immediate fact-checking had been possible, such inaccurate reports attacking the government would probably not have emerged,” Lee said.
“It also seems possible to establish a system that immediately analyzes influential fake news and issues fact-based rebuttals. That work does not necessarily have to be done by humans.”
Lee further pointed out that the issue was not confined to media reports but also involved misinformation circulating on YouTube and other platforms.
“Those kinds of claims could also be challenged in real time and addressed on the basis of facts. I think that is something we are fully capable of doing,” Lee said.
In response, Minister of Data and Statistics Ahn Hyung-jun explained that the ministry was already conducting an AI-based proof of concept internally, adding, “We plan to establish the system next year.”
Lee also suggested that artificial intelligence could be used to handle the massive volume of public complaints and petitions submitted to the government each year.
Noting that the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission alone receives around 12 million civil complaints annually, with the total across government agencies likely exceeding 20 million, Lee said AI could help process such requests more efficiently by verifying facts, providing explanations and directing citizens to the appropriate government office.
“Those are also areas where AI can easily provide responses,” Lee said. “It can determine what is factual and what is not, explain how an issue should be addressed and identify which government ministry is handling the matter. If we do that, I think it could significantly reduce public frustration.”
Stressing the growing importance of data governance in the AI era, Lee added that he had even considered elevating the National Data Agency to ministerial status.
“I briefly found myself wondering whether the agency should be upgraded to a ministerial-level organization,” Lee said. “That is how important it is.”
The first day of briefings also covered the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Planning and Budget, National Tax Service, Korea Customs Service, Public Procurement Service and Financial Services Commission.
This year’s policy briefings marked a departure from past practice, under which ministers typically reported to the president only once a year, at year’s end.
In a first for the government’s policy briefing process, more than 200 citizens selected through a public recruitment process conducted by Cheong Wa Dae participated in the sessions as members of a public observer panel.
During the briefings, members of the citizen panel were given opportunities to question Lee directly, and he responded on the spot. Lee also instructed officials to collect comments and suggestions posted during the livestreams and distribute them to the relevant ministries for review and follow-up.
