The Democratic Party of Korea on the 28th targeted Lee Jun-seok, the Reform Party’s presidential candidate, calling him “the first candidate to jump into the swamp of hate and prejudice” and released a collection of his past remarks. This was in response to Lee Jun-seok’s attack on Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung’s son over his alleged obscene online comments.
Members of the Democratic Party’s Central Election Countermeasure Committee, including Director General Kang Deuk-gu and Jeong Joon-ho, held a press conference at party headquarters, stating that they aimed to “clearly reveal the true nature of Lee Jun-seok hidden behind the mask of ‘youth politics and political reform’” as they unveiled the compilation.
They criticized, saying, “Lee Jun-seok, while calling for young voices, is actually a typical example of ‘the wolf in sheep’s clothing,’ excluding specific groups and orchestrating division,” adding that he was “the first penguin to jump into the swamp of hate and prejudice.”
They further noted that in 2016, Lee referred to victims of wartime sexual slavery as “interested parties,” thereby undermining their dignity. In 2015, he attempted to justify the Park Geun-hye administration’s 1 billion yen agreement with Japan. In 2022, he allegedly incited division among voters by claiming there was “low female voter turnout.”
They also stated that during the 2023 People Power Party national convention, Lee “abandoned even basic decency toward the public” by using vulgar expressions such as “CheonjjikXX,” adding that his conduct “spreads division and exclusion under the guise of youth politics.”
The ‘CheonjjikXX’ controversy originated from promotional materials posted on social media (SNS) by Lee Jun-seok to support Representative Cheon Ha-ram, who was a candidate for party leader at the People Power Party’s 2023 national convention. In the promotional materials, they abbreviated the slogan ‘Cheon Ha-ram, must be elected, protects free political speech’ into four characters, for which he received criticism for using a slang term referring to male genitalia.
Previously, on the 27th during the third TV debate among presidential candidates, Lee Jun-seok raised the issue of explicit comments presumably posted by Lee Jae-myung’s eldest son, Dong-ho, which objectified women in an online community and asked, “Do such comments fall under the category of misogyny?”
As the remark became controversial, Lee Jae-myung expressed discomfort, stating, “One should not recklessly write or collude with false manipulation about someone claiming facts that do not exist, and the media should strive to determine the truth and report it.”