The Democratic Party of Korea decided to report Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, to the police on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act on the 23rd. The claim is that Kim's criticism of Lee Jae-myung's remark about 'coffee cost 120 won' is considered to be a publication of false facts, asserting that the candidate depicted self-employed individuals as 'greedy business exploiters'.

Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party presidential candidate, visits the Korean Medical Association in Yongsan, Seoul, on 22nd, explaining his stance on resolving the legislative conflict during a meeting with the president and executive committee, including President Kim Tae-woo. /Courtesy of News1

The Democratic Party's election campaign committee's clean election legal support group noted, 'Kim has published false facts by selectively quoting parts of candidate Lee's remark about the 'coffee cost 120 won'' and stated that they would report it.

Earlier, on the 18th, Kim asserted on Facebook, '(Candidate Lee) viewing self-employed individuals as greedy business exploiters while claiming to revitalize the economy is absurd' and added, 'I hope candidate Lee immediately apologizes to the self-employed and small business owners who struggle day by day.'

In response, the support group countered, 'During candidate Lee's term as Gyeonggi Province governor, while cracking down on illegal businesses in the valley, he made the statement while looking for ways to protect the public's right to access the valley and support the livelihoods of those targeted by enforcement.' They stated, 'With just over two weeks before the presidential election, it is manipulated to assert that candidate Lee 'viewed self-employed individuals as greedy exploiters' without any basis.'

The support group stated, 'Candidate Kim published false facts for the purpose of preventing candidate Lee from being elected as president' and called for a swift and thorough investigation by the investigative agency.

The controversial remark about 'coffee cost 120 won' was made on the 16th during candidate Lee's campaign in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, while he was discussing the achievements of his term as governor regarding the 'valley maintenance project.' He stated, 'If you sell chicken for 50,000 won and sweat while boiling it for an hour, you will only make 30,000 won. However, you can charge 8,000 to 10,000 won for a cup of coffee. Upon inquiry, the cost was 120 won.' Although it was a remark emphasizing administrative achievements through persuasion, there have been protests among café workers asking, 'Is this saying we exploited the profits?'