Lee Jae-myung, the candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, claimed on the 23rd that the 18th presidential election, in which President Park Geun-hye was elected in 2017 while he was the mayor of Seongnam, was a "fraudulent election," noting that "the National Intelligence Service manipulated public opinion through comment manipulation, which is a aspect of a fraudulent election."

Candidates including Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea, Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party, Kwon Young-guk of the Democratic Labor Party, and Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party prepare for the second candidate debate of the 21st presidential election at the KBS studio in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul on the 23rd. /Courtesy of Yonhap News

On this day, the candidate responded to Lee Jun-seok, the Reform Party candidate, who asked during the second TV debate for the 21st presidential election conducted by the Central Election Broadcasting Debate Committee, "You also agreed with the discourse on fraudulent elections claimed by Kim Eo-jun and others; do you still hold the same position?" He added, "The allegations that the election commission manipulated the vote count are not the kind of fraudulent election that Yoon Suk-yeol or Kim Moon-soo are concerned about."

Lee Jun-seok stated, "Just as with the discourse on fraudulent elections claimed by President Yoon Suk-yeol and others, the previous candidate Lee Jae-myung also agreed here and shared content regarding fraudulent elections," adding, "He endorsed conspiracy theories that the Cheonan sank due to a collision with a submarine and also retweeted news that local residents did not hear North Korean shelling during the Western Front shelling."

He also stated, "The president should be responsible for the security of South Korea, yet cannot trust soldiers risking their lives to protect the Western Front and instead chooses to side with North Korean claims or aligns with conspiracy theorists about fraudulent elections. (Lee Jae-myung) needs to answer these questions." In response, Lee Jae-myung said, "I have officially stated several times that the sinking of the Cheonan was due to 'an attack from North Korea,' as announced by the government."

Immediately after Lee Jae-myung's response, the Reform Party shared media reports related to the SNS posts of then-Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung. At that time, the candidate who was considered a leading contender for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination wrote on Facebook, "This is a fraudulent election that surpasses the 3.15 fraudulent election," adding, "Evidence justifying suspicions of digital vote counting fraud is emerging. I support many people fighting for manual counting at polling places."