Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate, said on the 31st that the comment made by Yu Si-min, former chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, describing the spouse of Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party presidential candidate, Seol Nan-young, as 'not in her right mind' was 'an inappropriate expression.'
The candidate met with reporters after a campaign event in Cheongju on that day and stated, 'Since he apologized, I think the people will forgive him.'
Earlier, Yu appeared on the YouTube channel 'Kim Eo-jun's Dasibedia' on the night of the 28th and criticized Seol Nan-young for her comments on the allegations regarding the misuse of a corporate credit card by Lee Jae-myung's wife, Kim Hye-kyung. He remarked, 'The position of the spouse of a presidential candidate from a major party is a position Seol Nan-young cannot reach in her life.' He added, 'That's why this person is floating in the air. So, she is not in her right mind.'
This led to a flood of criticism that the remarks were disrespectful to women and laborers. In response, Yu appeared on YouTube the previous day and said, 'The roughness of my expression was my mistake,' but clarified, 'I did not mean to demean women or laborers.'
The candidate also commented, 'It also made me think that perhaps such remarks were made by Yu, because Seol Nan-young made comments that truly demean women, such as saying, 'an ugly woman is unionizing.'
In response to the question, 'What do you think of the statement from former President Yoon Suk-yeol being publicly revealed at a rally led by Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon?' the candidate answered, 'It clearly shows that the candidate Kim is supported by far-right figures.'
The candidate noted, '(Kim) has yet to answer questions about whether she would sever ties with far-right Jeon Gwang-hoon or insurrectionist Yoon Suk-yeol,' adding, 'Please see that the essence of Kim is an avatar of Yoon Suk-yeol and Jeon Gwang-hoon. Remember that Kim's election would mean the return of the de facto ruler Yoon Suk-yeol and the return of the pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon.'
Earlier, Lee Dong-ho, a former executive at the Yeouido Institute, read the 'Yoon Suk-yeol appeal' at a rally hosted by Pastor Jeon on this day. According to the statement, the former president said, 'To protect this country's liberal democracy and normalize the country, I urge you to go to the polling station and lend your support to candidate Kim Moon-soo.'
In response to the question, 'If you are elected president, how would you handle the relationship between the party and the government?' the candidate replied, 'It's premature to speak of matters that would follow the election,' noting that 'In the last general election, the people overwhelmingly provided the opposition with majority seats to check the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, yet that administration raised absurd insurrections without reflection.'
He continued, 'If the people give the majority party Democratic Party an opportunity, it is only natural to overcome abnormalities through cooperation with the majority ruling party and the National Assembly.' He added, 'The most important thing is to effectively utilize the majority seats in the National Assembly and administrative power to fulfill what the people desire.'
The candidate referred to reports suggesting that a conservative group named 'Rebox School' formed a comment manipulation team to rig public opinion for the presidential election, saying, 'It is judged that systematic opinion manipulation has been conducted related to the People Power Party.'
He also stated, 'There must be a clear investigation into where the money came from and the degree of correlation with the People Power Party,' adding, 'I instructed the campaign committee to take all possible measures.'