Kim Nam-guk: "The Public Is More Interested in Promises Than Candidate Insults" Supporting Lee Jae-myung

"I've never seen anyone insult Lee Jae-myung... Please understand it was to protect his mother"

Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province and a preliminary presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, is seen talking with spokesperson Kim Nam-guk before a press conference at the Democratic Party of Korea Gwangju Metropolitan City Party office in Chipyeong-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju, on July 25.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim So-young] Kim Nam-guk, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and chief of staff for Gyeonggi Province Governor and presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung's campaign, defended Lee by saying, "The public is more interested in the candidate's economic recovery pledges than in his use of profanity."

In an interview on June 13 with KBS Radio's 'Joo Jin-woo Live,' when asked if he had ever seen Lee use profanity, Kim replied, "I have never seen him curse."

He explained, "Candidate Lee Jae-myung has apologized extensively regarding the issue of profanity. What I want to add is that the situation that led to the cursing was when his older brother committed what could be considered a disgraceful act toward their octogenarian mother. As a son caring for his mother, Lee was angry and reacted that way."

He continued, "Please understand that this was done to protect his mother amid family discord, including filing an injunction against his older brother. Nevertheless, he fully recognizes that it was inappropriate, has apologized multiple times, and currently does not use any profanity," he emphasized.

Kim, who said he has never heard the profanity audio file of Lee, stated, "The public is interested not in the candidate's profanity but in how he will change their lives. Since the economy has been severely affected by COVID-19, people want to know how he plans to recover the struggling economy."

When the host mentioned, "People's Power lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo said, 'If the profanity file is played, it's over,'" Kim responded, "If Hong becomes the People's Power candidate and the profanity file is played, I think the party's approval ratings will fall even further."

Earlier, on June 10 at a press conference in Daegu, Hong criticized, "Someone who uses foul language should not become president. If the profanity Lee used during the first three days of the main election is played, the election is over. How could the entire nation vote for Lee after hearing that?"

In response, Lee's camp stated, "Politics is called 'the art of words,' but Hong Joon-pyo's behavior, which lowers the level of politics with such crude remarks, is utterly deplorable," adding, "It is truly low and disgraceful."

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