Lee Nak-yeon: "Criticism of Lee Jae-myung's Baekje Remarks Is a Matter of Common Sense"

Presidential frontrunner Lee Nak-yeon, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is seen on the morning of the 23rd visiting the Gyeongnam Provincial Government Office in Uichang-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam, and conversing with the press corps.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seohyun] Lee Nak-yeon, former leader of the Democratic Party and a presidential primary candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 26th addressed the controversy over Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung's so-called 'Baekje (百濟) remark,' stating, "(Governor Lee's remark) logically allows for raising questions, doesn't it?"

In an interview on CBS Radio's Kim Hyun-jung's News Show that day, the former leader said, "The approach of interpreting elections by linking candidates to regions is outdated."

Earlier, on the 23rd, Governor Lee responded in an interview with JoongAng Ilbo to the question, "Why do you think you are the sure-win card?" by saying, "There has never been a case where the so-called Baekje or Honam region took the lead to unify the entire Korean Peninsula," and added, "Practically, the most important thing is expansion capability, and I think I am the candidate who can receive votes evenly nationwide."

In response, on the 24th, the former leader posted on his Facebook a post titled 'We need to approach regionalism much more cautiously,' criticizing Governor Lee. He said, "It was a serious gaffe to mention the 5,000-year history of the Korean Peninsula and question the expansion capability of a candidate from the Honam region."

In response to this criticism from the former leader, Governor Lee rebutted, saying, "They are attacking me with extreme negativity, fabricating words I never said, claiming 'Lee Jae-myung made regionalism remarks in an interview,'" and demanded, "Candidate Lee Nak-yeon should apologize and discipline the spokesperson who raised the issue."

The former leader countered again, saying, "What is it that I distorted?" and "I think I was the most moderate in my criticism," adding, "Basically, I do not think it is desirable to nitpick and keep fighting over these things."

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