Lee Jae-myung ‘Directly Targets’ Lee Nak-yeon: “There Are Many Talks About Close Aides and Family... He Should Reflect on Himself First”

Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung's Sharp Criticism of Lee Nak-yeon
"Lee Nak-yeon Should Take Care of Those Around Him First"
From Strategic Patience to Counterattack as a Sniper

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, who went through the preliminary primary with "strategic patience," is shifting his stance in response to the rapid rise of former party leader Lee Nak-yeon, the party's second-ranked figure. He intends to return to his previous "sharpshooter" image.

On the 14th, Lee appeared on a radio show and directly criticized, "Start by looking around (candidate Lee Nak-yeon). There are many stories about his close aides or family." Regarding the public perception that former leader Lee's strength lies in his "stability," he downplayed it by saying, "The more you do, the more you become a target of attacks." While he had previously criticized opponents' negative strategies and focused on "defense," it appears he has judged that this strategy is no longer effective.

In fact, Lee continued his offensive by bringing up the Optimus scandal involving Lee Nak-yeon's close aides. He said, "(The person under suspicion) is not unrelated to (Lee Nak-yeon) and was sentenced to prison for registering fake party members in the party member list during the Jeonnam governor primary," adding, "He should first clarify those issues." Lee also stated, "If I am a clean person and there is distortion making it seem like I have huge corruption, I will actively clarify and counterattack."

Lee's shift in tone is interpreted as a reaction to the rapid rise in Lee Nak-yeon's approval ratings and the threat posed by the "anti-Lee Jae-myung coalition." According to a poll commissioned by Asia Economy to Win-G Korea Consulting conducted from the 10th to 11th among 1,011 voters nationwide aged 18 and over (100% mobile virtual numbers, automated response), in the "Lee Nak-yeon vs. Yoon Seok-youl" matchup, Lee Nak-yeon led with 43.7% support, 2.6 percentage points ahead of former Prosecutor General Yoon (41.2%).

On the other hand, in the "Lee Jae-myung vs. Yoon Seok-youl" matchup, former Prosecutor General Yoon's support was 42.2%, while Governor Lee's was 41.5%. This placed Lee behind Yoon by 0.7 percentage points, within the margin of error. Meanwhile, Lee's campaign plans to hold a press briefing on the 15th to announce its main primary strategy, additional recruitments, and responses to negative campaigns.

On the same day, senior party member Woo Won-shik (four-term lawmaker) decided to join Lee's presidential campaign. Woo's side stated, "We concluded that Lee is the most suitable person to resolve unfairness and polarization."

This survey was conducted by Asia Economy through Win-G Korea Consulting from the 10th to 11th among voters aged 18 and over nationwide, with 1,011 respondents and an overall response rate of 7.5%. The survey method was wireless ARS with 100% mobile virtual numbers, and the sample was extracted using weighted values by gender, age, and region based on the resident registration population as of the end of January 2021 from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (cell weighting). The sampling error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For detailed survey information, refer to the Win-G Korea Consulting website or the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.

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