President Lee Jae-myung is looking at his watch

President Lee Jae-myung is looking at his watch at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

President Lee Jae-myung is going to continue the tradition of making presidential watches, which was started by former President Park Chung-hee in 1967.

"I will continue the tradition of presidents making their own watches, which was started by former President Park Chung-hee in 1967. I think it’s a good idea to make a useful gift that can be given to foreign leaders and heads of international organizations who visit Korea. I will have it made economically," Lee said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

Lee’s remarks come after reports that the current administration is planning to scrap the tradition of making presidential watches.

The reports were sparked by comments from Rep. Jeon Hyun-heui of the ruling Democratic Party.

In a recent YouTube interview, Jeon said that Lee had responded to a question about making a “Lee Jae-myung watch” during a dinner with lawmakers at the presidential residence on Saturday.

“We were chatting and someone asked, ‘Why doesn’t the president make a presidential watch like former presidents used to do? It would be nice to have an IRETI watch with the president’s name and the presidential seal on it.’ The president replied, ‘What’s the point of something like that?’” Jeon said.

Following Jeon’s comments, several media outlets reported that the Lee administration would not continue the custom of making presidential watches, which was a common practice throughout previous administrations.

Each president had a unique watch design made and distributed by the presidential office as part of a diplomatic and ceremonial initiative. The president’s name was engraved on the back of the watch, which was also sold by the presidential office as a kind of unofficial presidential merchandise.

These watches, often sold in a box with the president’s signature and a letter of appreciation, were typically gifted to foreign dignitaries, politicians, journalists and select individuals. They became collectible items, with their value on the secondhand market fluctuating based on the political fortunes and public perceptions of the administration that issued them.

For example, after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office, there was a surge in listings for watches bearing his name on secondhand marketplaces.

Yoon’s administration was known for its lavish spending habits, which drew criticism from the public. Despite the reports of the presidential office’s extravagance, a recent poll by Realmeter showed that 70 percent of Koreans hold a positive view of the current administration.

After Yoon was impeached by the National Assembly on December 6 for abuse of power, corruption and incompetence, and subsequently removed from office by the Constitutional Court on December 14, the price of watches bearing his signature dropped sharply.

Previously sold for 250,000 won on secondhand marketplaces, the watches were being listed for as low as 50,000 won following Yoon’s removal.

The watch that President Lee has been seen wearing at meetings with foreign leaders and heads of international organizations is a model from E-Land’s OST brand. Its official retail price is 59,900 won, and it was previously sold online for about 40,000 won.

However, after the watch began to sell out rapidly following reports that President Lee would continue the tradition of presidents commissioning custom-designed watches, OST updated its online listings with the label “presidential” and announced that it would be taking preorders for the timepiece. The watches are expected to be delivered by the end of July.