President Lee Jae-myung reportedly invited friends from his boy worker days at the Orient watch factory to his eldest son Dong-ho's wedding. With a limited number of guests invited to the wedding, a connection from the president's frequently mentioned boy worker days has emerged.
Jung Cheong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, noted on Facebook on the 14th, "I met friends from the Orient watch factory that President Lee Jae-myung attended as a boy worker outside the wedding venue of President Lee's son."
He added, "Suddenly, I heard from somewhere, ‘Jung Cheong-rae, please take good care of our friend, the president.’ So I asked, ‘Which friends of the president are you referring to?’ They replied, ‘Friends from the Orient watch factory,’ so I happily greeted them."
President Lee worked for two years as a so-called ‘boy worker’ at the Orient watch factory in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, in 1979. He invited friends whom he worked with during his boy worker days to his eldest son's wedding, and Jung shared the story and footage of meeting his boy worker friends on his social media.
Jung stated, “At that time, Lee Jae-myung was a boy worker who continued to work at the factory after graduating from elementary school, and he reportedly carried an English dictionary with him to study hard.” He added, “One friend who met him as a boy worker became the president, and only a small number of people were invited to the wedding of his child. I think it would have felt good even for me to be invited by a friend who became president and did not forget his boy worker friends.”
He continued, “They were happy, so I also felt joyful and expressed gratitude to the citizens who kept us alive under martial law, allowing such a day to happen.”
President Lee's eldest son Dong-ho held his wedding at a venue in Seoul on this day. The wedding is reported to be a family event, but many figures from the ruling party attended as well. The wedding was attended by Jung, along with Kim Byung-ki, the floor leader, Moon Jin-seok, the chief deputy floor leader, Park Sang-hyuk, the chief communication deputy floor leader, and National Assembly Speaker Yoo Won-sik.