The dispute over "misogynistic obscene comments" between Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Lee Jun-seok, the Reform Party candidate, has emerged as a late-stage variable in the June 3 presidential elections. The controversy arose after Lee Jun-seok brought up past obscene comments suspected to have been written on an online bulletin board by Lee Jae-myung's eldest son, Dong-ho. Criticism has grown over the comments themselves as well as the way both candidates have raised and responded to the issue. It is anticipated that the focus of the election triggered by the Dec. 3 martial law will shift to "morality verification," which could be detrimental to both sides.
Cho Seung-rae, the Director General of public relations for the Democratic Party of Korea's Central Election Campaign Committee, stated on the 29th, "Lee Jun-seok's behavior of spreading false information with the aim of defeating Lee Jae-myung cannot be tolerated," adding, "Past issues should not be used in the election as if they are new." The previous day, they filed a complaint against Lee Jun-seok and demanded his expulsion from his parliamentary position. However, regarding the authenticity of the comments, they only mentioned, "It is not clear if Lee Jae-myung's son wrote them. He has consistently denied it."
The Democratic Party claimed that the problematic comments were "targeted at men." Director General Cho stated, "In the low-quality obscene offensive, Lee Jun-seok fabricated (the comments)", and "it was not aimed at women, but the gender was changed to disguise it as misogyny." The essence, they say, is that the most controversial violent expression in Dong-ho's comments was aimed at men, not women.
◇Democrats “uncertain about comment authorship” accuse Lee Jun-seok
Previously, last June, Dong-ho was summarily fined 5 million won for habitual gambling and distributing obscene materials via the Information and Communications Network Act, as charged by the prosecution, without filing an objection, making it final. According to the prosecution's indictment, Lee wrote four obscene comments containing sexual descriptions on a poker site between 2019 and 2021. These included the explicit expressions that Lee Jun-seok quoted during the third televised presidential debate on the 27th, which caused significant controversy.
The indictment also included obscene comments Dong-ho left targeting some female celebrities. These comments were said to clearly contain misogynistic expressions, suggesting unilateral sexual relations towards women. However, Director General Cho avoided a direct response by stating, "It is clearly stated as false information whether the candidate's son did it himself or not," and added, "Addressing that point as blame is a different issue."
In response to the Democratic Party's claim that the comments were "targeted at men," Lee Jun-seok said, "Is it acceptable to use such expressions towards men, then? Without blurring the message, Lee Jae-myung should apologize directly." He also questioned, "After making a speech that matches the facts, Lee Jae-myung tries to threaten by mentioning expulsion from the National Assembly just because he doesn't want to answer. What kind of life has Lee Jae-myung lived?"
◇Hoped for stable victory in ‘insurrection election’ but topic shifts
The Democratic Party has maintained a "watch your mouth" warning at the election headquarters level, keeping the concept of an "urgent election." Although the election stems from the impeachment of the president, with the People Power Party's support base rallying and the gap in public opinion polls narrowing, there was growing concern that any arrogance could lead to losing moderate voters. However, as the "Dong-ho comments controversy" raised by Lee Jun-seok causes clashes between the two parties, it seems the late-phase "morality" issue will impact voter sentiment.
Park Sung-min, Chief of Political Consultant Min, stated, "It will be difficult for Lee Jun-seok to increase his vote share by raising this issue," but acknowledged, "It clearly provides some voters with a 'reason not to vote for Lee Jae-myung.'" Park further opined, "The Democratic Party must win this election by maintaining the 'insurrection frame,' but it has suddenly turned into a 'morality frame.' The shift in focus back to ethics, when the narrative of holding Yoon Suk-yeol accountable and judging the People Power Party was active in the presidential race, will undoubtedly weigh heavily."
Park also pointed out the Democratic Party's response method. "Using explicit language in a TV debate watched by the entire nation was undeniably inappropriate," Park stated, adding, "If the language used indeed targeted women's bodies, at the very least, a progressive politician should have said, 'No one should do this,' or 'I will introspect more.' Ignoring the wrongdoing and only attacking the person raising the issue is hypocritical," Park noted. This implies a revelation of the "double standards" within the Democratic Party, independent of Lee Jun-seok.