Jin Joong-kwon: "Lee Jae-myung is the underdog in the party's presidential race... Using 'Cho Kuk marketing' to boost approval ratings"

Lee Jae-myung "Cho Kuk Faced Cruel Personal Attacks and Witch Hunt During Prosecutor Investigation"

Jin Joong-kwon, former professor at Dongyang University / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon evaluated former Governor Lee Jae-myung, who defended former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, as having "somewhat excessive political sensibility."

On the 29th, Professor Jin said on his Facebook, "Since he is still an underdog in the intra-party presidential candidate competition, he should have further increased his approval rating, which rose during this COVID-19 phase."

He added, "To do that, the support of the pro-Moon faction and its supporters is absolutely necessary," and claimed, "Because Cho Kuk fell from grace, that area has effectively become a no-man's land. Now, seizing this opportunity, he has just begun steps to win the hearts of the Moon fandom, which has lost its owner."

Professor Jin compared Lee Nak-yeon, the Democratic Party's standing election committee chairman, with Lee Jae-myung, saying, "His approach is different from Lee Nak-yeon's."

He explained, "Lee Nak-yeon is ahead in the competition, so he cannot help but keep the main election in mind. If he defends Cho Kuk, he will lose the moderate voters in the main election. That's why he drew a line by saying he has no 'emotional debt' to Cho Kuk."

He continued, "Lee Jae-myung is an underdog, so he must first pass the preliminaries. To do that, he must dispel the distrust and resentment that the core of the Democratic Party?the pro-Moon faction and its supporters?have toward him. Therefore, until the preliminaries end, he has no choice but to rely on 'Cho Kuk marketing.'"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung. Photo by Yonhap News

He went on, "You may want to escalate the conflict, but I cannot help you with that. That strategy does not seem likely to succeed," adding, "'Fandom' support is based on emotion, so it has a blind spot beyond rational thinking or reasonable calculation of understanding. It's like 'once marked, marked forever.'

He said, "But I understand. Even if their outward feelings differ, their inner feelings are probably the same," and added, "Despite what they say, I firmly believe that their hearts are with the students who had to fail without knowing the reason because of that person, not with the students who entered university with forged documents thanks to good parents. If not, they are unqualified to be president."

Earlier, Lee Jae-myung posted on his Facebook on the same day a message titled "Professor Jin Joong-kwon, please stop the cruel human rights violations," criticizing, "Former Professor Jin's claim that 'there were even more shameless acts' without concrete evidence is an extension of a witch hunt and a human rights violation."

Lee said, "Neither Professor Jin nor I know the exact truth related to former Minister Cho. The court will decide guilt or innocence," and claimed, "It is undeniable that he suffered cruel personal attacks and witch hunts during the prosecution investigation process that he should not have endured."

He added, "Professor Jin's words, which feel like kicking a person who has fallen, are really uncomfortable," and said, "Even if someone attacks others, I hope they do not cross the line."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.