Lee Jae-myung "Hiding Personal Issues and Exaggerating" Lee Nak-yeon "Seems Impatient and Anxious"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The fierce back-and-forth battle between the two leading Democratic Party presidential candidates, Lee Jae-myung and Lee Nak-yeon, is intensifying. Regarding the allegations of Lee Nak-yeon’s defamation through the SNS of public officials from related institutions in Gyeonggi Province, Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung responded by calling it "a drop in the bucket" and "exaggeration." Former Representative Lee Nak-yeon countered the issue raised by Lee’s side about "praising Park Chung-hee," saying, "You say that because you are somewhat impatient or anxious."

On the 20th, Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung appeared on KBS’s radio program ‘Choi Kang Sisa’ and explained regarding the SNS defamation by an executive of a related institution in Gyeonggi Province mentioned by Lee Nak-yeon’s side, "The person is not even a public official but one of the supporters, and immediate audit, severe disciplinary action, and suspension from position were taken." He added, "There is distortion of facts and mudslinging. They hide their serious problems and exaggerate minor issues, but compared to the manipulated comments circulating on the internet, this is just a drop in the bucket." Lee also said, "Verification should be done regarding relatives or close aides."

On the same day, former Representative Lee Nak-yeon, appearing on MBC’s ‘Siseon Jipjung,’ raised the offensive tone further. Regarding the defamation by a public official from a related institution in Gyeonggi Province, he said, "If there was a violation of election law or something a public official should not do, that issue should be addressed." When it was revealed that Lee Jae-myung’s side had suspended the person from their position, he retorted, "That’s not a personnel issue, is it?" Regarding the allegation of praising former President Park Chung-hee raised by Lee’s side, he called it "ridiculous." He said, "If that were true, would I have received the nomination from President Kim Dae-jung? I was elected four times as a member of the National Assembly from Jeonnam and served as governor, and it was never an issue. You say such things because you are impatient or anxious."

This war of nerves between the two candidates reflects the recent public opinion trend of the three-way race among Lee Jae-myung, Yoon Seok-youl, and Lee Nak-yeon. In a poll conducted on the 17th-18th asking preferred candidates for the next presidential election, Lee Jae-myung received 23.8%, former Prosecutor General Yoon 22%, and former Representative Lee 20.1%, showing a close race within the margin of error (Realmeter poll, nationwide adults aged 18 and over, 1,000 respondents, margin of error ±3.1% at 95% confidence level). This trend is similar to the results of a poll conducted by Asia Economy through WinG Korea Consulting on the 10th-11th, highlighting the "rapid rise" of Lee Nak-yeon’s side.

As the intensity of the exchanges between the two sides escalated, Lee Sang-min, the Democratic Party’s election management committee chairman, warned, "We must not only play fair but also play nice." However, with the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate selection date postponed from September 5 to October 10, buying more time, this negative confrontation is expected to heat up further.

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