Won Hee-ryong: "Lee Jae-myung's Way of Criticizing Others Reflects Himself"

Jeon Hee-ryong, Governor of Jeju Province, is giving a greeting at the People Power Party-Jeju Province Budget Policy Meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 2nd of last month. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong criticized Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung, who had criticized him, on the 7th, saying, "The way you criticize others shows who you are."

On the same day, Governor Won posted an article titled "Who is the enemy of democracy?" on his Facebook, stating, "The way you criticize others shows who you are. This is especially true for politicians."

He continued, "I criticize those who call people with different opinions 'red commies' or 'pro-North Korea forces.' If opinions differ, criticism should be based on what grounds and why they differ," adding, "Like Governor Lee Jae-myung, labeling others' opinions as being at the level of Ilbe comments just because they differ is turning a debate into a fight."

Governor Won also said, "There are few people who criticize even when a leading presidential candidate behaves strangely," and "People who express different opinions are branded as deep-rooted evils, and those with critical opinions are accused of being Ilbe members, but instead of criticizing, people just say 'That's right.'

He added, "They remain silent when seeing the situation where, despite such aggressiveness, the original intent of prosecutorial reform disappears and only the intention to tame the prosecution remains. They defend the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) by calling it the Uigeumbu," and criticized, "Even if they maintain such an attitude, their approval ratings are hardly damaged. If we remain silent and stand by in this situation, freedom and democracy will regress."

Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the 'Gyeonggi Province Local District National Assembly Members' Provincial Administration Issues Meeting' held at the Gyeonggi Governor's official residence in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on the afternoon of the 13th of last month. Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, on the 4th, Governor Lee compared the launch of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to the Uigeumbu of the Joseon Dynasty, saying, "King Taejong ordered the Uigeumbu (compared to the CIO) to investigate and punish the Chief State Councillor of the Saheonbu (compared to Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl) and officials who neglected the rise of royal in-laws," and asked, "Why is the People Power Party afraid of the CIO?"

In response to Lee's remarks, Governor Won criticized on the 6th, "Comparing the CIO to the Uigeumbu, a royal agency that committed atrocities such as torture for absolute royal authority, is a sly way to 'dis' the Blue House and the CIO," and said, "I want to say that the mindset of finding the basis of the Republic of Korea's judicial system in the Joseon Dynasty has many problems."

Then, Governor Lee again directed remarks at Governor Won, saying, "It is regrettable and even pitiful that the words and actions of prominent politicians mentioned as mid-level politicians of the main opposition party or presidential candidates are no different from childish Ilbe comments, as they do not even understand the meaning of the article."

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