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President Lee Jae-myung speaks during a cabinet meeting and emergency economic review session held at the Blue House on May 20. / Photo courtesy of Yonhap News Agency

President Lee Jae-myung strongly criticized certain domestic media outlets on May 21, pointing to a recent correction issued by the US news agency Bloomberg regarding its coverage of a "national dividend" proposal. He urged local news organizations to take the foreign outlet's accountability as an example, accusing domestic critics of persisting in "manipulated and distorted reporting" with political motives.

President Lee shared an article on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) titled "Bloomberg Responds to Blue House Letter on 'National Dividend' Coverage… Issues Correction Notice," accompanied by his sharp remarks.

"The foreign outlet issued a correction, admitting they misreported Chief of Staff Kim Yong-bum's proposal as a dividend based on excess corporate profits rather than excess tax revenue," Lee wrote. "How dignified and admirable is this stance from a highly self-respecting news organization committed to fair and objective journalism?"

He further emphasized that "this is a posture that media outlets which frequently churn out fake news through intentional manipulation and distortion—solely to side with specific political factions or attack others—can never demonstrate."

The controversy stems from a Facebook post published on May 11 by Kim Yong-bum, the presidential chief of staff, which outlined potential frameworks for distributing "excess tax revenue" generated by an ongoing semiconductor super-cycle. In his post, Kim referenced both "excess tax revenue" and "excess profits," prompting opposition parties to launch a political offensive, labeling the concept a communist-style ideology.

Bloomberg subsequently covered the story, framing the initiative as a plan to redistribute corporate windfall profits, which it claimed triggered a sharp decline in the South Korean stock market. In response, the Blue House dispatched a formal letter of protest on May 14, calling the interpretation a "grave misunderstanding" and demanding an official apology for driving market confusion through inaccurate framing.

Following the protest, Bloomberg issued a correction clarifying that Kim's proposal specifically involved utilizing excess tax revenues generated from artificial intelligence (AI) sector growth. The news agency also updated its coverage to reflect that the post represented Kim's personal academic opinion rather than an official administration policy.