South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has ignited a diplomatic firestorm following a glowing interview with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, where he praised President Xi Jinping as an “outstanding and broad-minded leader.” In the interview released on January 2, 2026, Lee went as far as to claim that the South Korean people now hold a “very favorable impression” of the Chinese leader’s character—a statement that has left opposition leaders and security hawks in Seoul absolutely stunned. The President’s attempts to portray China as a “truly reliable neighbor” come at a time of peak regional tension, leading many to question if Seoul is pivotally shifting its alliance away from the West.
The most controversial part of the interview centered on a bizarre “phone joke” exchange that occurred during their November summit in Gyeongju. After Xi gifted Lee a Chinese-made Xiaomi smartphone, Lee reportedly asked, “Is the communication security well-maintained?” prompting Xi to retort, “Why don’t you check if there’s a backdoor?” While Lee described the exchange as a display of Xi’s “surprising” sense of humor and “hearty” nature, critics are calling the interaction a “series of jokes that tested the line.” By laughing and clapping at a retort about state-sponsored hacking (backdoors), Lee is being accused of trivializing grave national security concerns in exchange for diplomatic “vibes.”
