President Lee Jae-myung and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung will appear together on 'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator' (hereafter 'Refrigerator'), which will be broadcast today (6th).
According to JTBC on the 6th, the broadcast of the Chuseok special 'Refrigerator', originally scheduled for Sunday the 5th, has been rescheduled to 10 PM today at the request of the presidential office.
'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator' is a cooking competition program featuring ingredients from the refrigerators of top stars, hosted by former announcer Kim Sung-joo and former soccer player Ahn Jung-hwan.
On this day, the presidential couple will introduce seasonal Korean agricultural and marine products and traditional Chuseok foods as 'K-food ambassadors', sharing heartfelt stories about their favorite Korean dishes and old memories related to Chuseok. The chefs will showcase creative dishes using seasonal Korean ingredients that are likely to appeal to both Koreans and people around the world.
Previously, the presidential office informed the broadcasting station of the request to postpone the airing, stating, "Considering that all ministries are observing a period of mourning due to the death of a public servant."
Presidential spokesperson Kim Nam-jun stated in a written briefing on the afternoon of the 4th, "President Lee Jae-myung and his wife were scheduled to appear on the Chuseok special of JTBC's 'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator' on the 5th to promote K-food made with seasonal ingredients, but due to the death of a public servant, all ministries are in mourning, and thus we requested a postponement of the airing."
He added, "President Lee has been receiving reports on the fire situation since the night of the 26th, right after returning from his visit to the U.S., closely monitoring the damage from the fire, the government's response, and directing necessary measures," and explained, "Accordingly, a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters was held under the Prime Minister's chairmanship on the 27th, and the fire was completely extinguished by 6 PM that day."
He continued, "On the morning of the 28th at 10:50 AM, President Lee held an emergency response meeting to receive reports on the situation from the heads of the three offices of the presidential office, the head of the Crisis Management Center, the head of the National Security Situation Room, and the spokesperson, discussing countermeasures," and added, "In this meeting, President Lee instructed to hold a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters in the afternoon of the 28th and to check the matters by each ministry."
Additionally, he elaborated, "On that day, after recording 'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator', President Lee chaired the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting at 5:30 PM."
This explanation from the presidential office seems to be aimed at dispelling suspicions raised by People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo.
Earlier, lawmaker Joo Jin-woo claimed that the recording date for the TV entertainment program featuring the presidential couple was estimated to be the 28th of last month, stating, "They did not appear before the public for two days and insisted they were holding internal meetings at the presidential office. According to the Presidential Records Act, meeting minutes must be kept. Make them public and let the people judge."
The presidential office rebutted this by stating that President Lee has been fully engaged in responding to various meetings since the 26th.
