"He is merely cosplaying as a president—packaging the achievements of others as his own, passing the buck to subordinates for his own mistakes, and attempting to appease public discontent by using supplementary budgets to distribute free money whenever public outcry intensifies."

U.S. political columnist Gene Cummings has launched a scathing critique of Lee Jae-myung, likening him to a gang boss.

On the 27th, Gene Cummings wrote on his Facebook, "Gangster-like businessmen, much like the Dongdaemun gang of the 1950s, use money to control people. They travel abroad under the guise of market research or business inspection, squandering money and enjoying trips, while shifting all responsibility to their subordinates whenever problems arise within the company—often even holding them accountable for issues they created themselves." He added, "Looking at Lee Jae-myung's current behavior, I cannot shake the thought that he is running the country the same way gang leaders run their businesses."

A Series of Deaths Surrounding Lee Jae-myung

First, Gene Cummings pointed out that "the people around Lee Jae-myung are meeting with mysterious deaths one after another."

"Yoo Han-gi, the Head of the Development Division at Seongnam Development Corporation, known as the 'number two' at the corporation, was found dead in December 2021. Kim Moon-ki, the Head of Development Team 1 at the same corporation, who was in charge of the Daejang-dong development project, was found dead in his office in December 2021."

He also noted that the two were found dead just 11 days apart.

"Furthermore, Lee Byung-chul, a civic group leader who raised allegations regarding Lee Jae-myung's legal fees being paid by others, was found dead in a motel in Seoul in January 2022. A person surnamed Kim, who was being questioned as a witness regarding Kim Hye-kyung's corporate card scandal, was also found dead at home in July 2022. Additionally, Jeon Hyung-soo, who served as chief of staff during Lee Jae-myung's tenure as Seongnam Mayor and Gyeonggi Governor, was found dead at his home in March 2023."

Gene Cummings stated that not only these individuals but also others surrounding Lee Jae-myung have died under mysterious circumstances throughout his time in power, and he asked if it is normal for so many people around a single politician to be found dead in succession.

He further added, "Even if it is ultimately determined that these deaths are completely unrelated to Lee Jae-myung, I cannot accept the reality of entrusting the nation's governance to such a person." He clarified, "Regardless of left or right, I am expressing concern because I judge that Lee Jae-myung himself could be a threat to the nation; I am not writing this to take sides with either the Democratic Party or the People Power Party."

He also remarked, "I do not believe Lee Jae-myung's supporters possess sound judgment. That thought was solidified when I watched a video of a woman saying, 'I love Lee Jae-myung so much it brings me to tears.'"

The Pinnacle of Irresponsibility

Gene Cummings stated, "Even though there are piles of serious domestic problems to solve, he encouraged citizens to invest in stocks even if they had to go into debt. Now that the stock market has plummeted and there are countless citizens who have lost their wealth due to the leveraged investments he encouraged, he is shifting the blame onto others." He noted that this confirms how dangerous it is to entrust the country's governance to such a person.

He further criticized, "Even in a situation where concerns over crude oil supply were growing due to the Hormuz crisis and citizens were worried about high oil prices, Lee Jae-myung responded by threatening gas stations. When there were urgent domestic issues, he left for a non-essential trip to Singapore." He raised his voice, arguing that Lee repeatedly flees the country whenever a crisis emerges domestically.

He took issue with the fact that "while the country is in a situation where measures must be prepared to prevent crises in crude oil supply, inflation, and financial market instability, the person calling himself president goes overseas (Singapore) and splurges vast amounts of national funds, making empty promises of investment (a plan to create a $300 million global mother fund, 'K-VCC,' by 2030 to invest in AI and deep-tech startups in Korea and Singapore) that are neither urgent nor have clear results."

Furthermore, he criticized Kim Hye-kyung, who attended the 'All That K-Pop' festival at the Metropolitan Theater in Manila, Philippines, noting, "She offered to provide flight tickets to all four participating teams in addition to the winning team on the spot, showing off as if she were spending her own money rather than taxpayer money." He directly attacked them, saying, "While telling citizens to tighten their belts due to the crude oil supply problem, Lee and his wife have been squandering the national budget overseas."

Gene Cummings emphasized that "the more absurd part is that when the domestic stock market plummeted while he was abroad, instead of examining the causes of the market collapse and preparing fundamental measures as president, he simply ordered the government to 'release more money,' acting as if it were his own."

He harshly criticized, "Lee Jae-myung's method is no different from the typical business operation style of a gang leader, where the boss hides in the background and shifts the blame onto subordinates whenever problems occur."

Lee Jae-myung Has Spent One Out of Every Six Days Abroad

Gene Cummings also assessed that among South Korea's past presidents, none have traveled abroad as frequently as Lee Jae-myung within about a year of taking office.

He noted, "In just about 13 and a half months since taking office, Lee Jae-myung has already embarked on his 12th overseas trip, surpassing the record set by Lee Myung-bak in his first year." He pointed out, "Since his inauguration on June 4, 2025, he has visited the Canada G7 Summit, Japan and the U.S. for a White House summit, the UN General Assembly in New York, the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia, the UAE, Egypt, South Africa, Turkey, China, Japan, state visits to Singapore and the Philippines, state visits to India and Vietnam, the EU in Belgium, Italy, the Vatican, France, the NATO Summit in Turkey, and Mongolia. Currently, he is on a trip to San Francisco, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Germany."

Based on his calculations, he pointed out that if Lee Jae-myung returns on August 3, his total time away from the country will be 68 days. Over 14 months, that averages 4.9 days per month—effectively spending nearly five days every month traveling abroad. This accounts for about 16% of his entire term, meaning he has spent one out of every six days abroad.

"Lee Jae-myung is the first president in South Korean history to visit overseas so frequently within just over a year of taking office."

What Did He Bring Back from His Twelve Trips?

Gene Cummings also meticulously questioned what achievements Lee Jae-myung actually brought back from his overseas travels.

According to him, "Although Lee Jae-myung has gone on 12 overseas trips in his first year, there are almost no achievements that citizens can verify with numbers and contracts." He pointed out, "Every time he returns from a trip, he announces cooperation in AI, critical minerals, supply chains, and defense, along with various MOUs as achievements. However, most are merely promises for future cooperation, and it is difficult to find results confirmed as actual investments or orders."

He criticized the recent San Francisco visit, saying, "Korean companies like Samsung, SK, and Hyundai were already pursuing cooperative projects with U.S. AI firms. Lee Jae-myung simply attended the event, took pictures with big-tech CEOs, had drinks, and then labeled it the 'San Francisco AI Declaration,' presenting the work already being done by these companies as his own diplomatic achievement."

He added that most of what came out of the event was "requests to invest in Korea" and answers that they would "cooperate in the future," with no specific investment amounts or confirmed contracts.

Gene Cummings criticized this, saying, "Ultimately, he is packaging events organized by businessmen as his own achievements and then using them as an excuse to travel around San Francisco, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Germany for 11 days."

He further stated, "Moreover, Lee Jae-myung himself is not even properly implementing the investment promises he already made with the U.S." He argued that in this situation, he should be in Washington meeting high-level U.S. government officials to solve remaining pending issues and bring back concrete results. Instead, without a schedule for meetings with policy makers, he is inserting himself into corporate AI events on his way to South America and advertising it as a diplomatic success.

Gene Cummings took issue with the fact that while domestic economic, political, security, and safety issues are erupting everywhere, Lee Jae-myung is shifting the blame for those problems to others while he tours the world.

Alluding to a former president who also traveled abroad frequently, he noted, "Lee Myung-bak was controversial, but at least he showed the public what he brought back through his trips, such as nuclear power plant orders or construction contracts." He added, "Lee Jae-myung travels more often than anyone else, yet there is not a single tangible achievement that citizens can verify with numbers or contracts."

He criticized Lee, stating, "He is merely cosplaying as a president—packaging the achievements of others as his own, passing the buck to subordinates for his own mistakes, and attempting to appease public discontent by using supplementary budgets to distribute free money whenever public outcry intensifies."

He especially emphasized, "While he wields the sword of legal punishment against those who criticize him, he himself is enjoying travel with his wife, living carefree."

Finally, Gene Cummings sharply remarked, "The very fact that such a person is sitting in the presidential seat of the Republic of Korea is a national disgrace."

◆ Gene Cummings

U.S. political columnist. After working at Channel 13 in Baltimore, Maryland, he served as Editor-in-Chief of the 'Sunday Times' (1994–1996) and Business Director of 'The Korean Weekly' (1996–2000), and later founded the 'Asia Post.' He is currently serving as co-editor-in-chief of 'The Korea Signal,' a media outlet specializing in analysis of Korea-U.S. policy and security.