Lee Jae-myung's Side: "Instructed to Dispose of Phone? ... Is This a Replica of Roh Moo-hyun's 'Dirt Road Watch' Incident?"

"People Power Party and Conservative Media Maliciously Edit Sentences"

Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] The campaign team of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate and Governor of Gyeonggi Province, responded to allegations that he had an improper relationship with former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu by referencing the late former President Roh Moo-hyun's 'Nondureong Watch Incident.'

Jeon Yong-gi, spokesperson for Lee Jae-myung's campaign, stated in a commentary on the 1st, "The People Power Party and some conservative media are trying to drive people to the brink of despair like Nazi Goebbels. It makes my blood boil," adding, "They are maliciously editing different contents as if they were a single sentence."

This comment was made in response to the renewed attention on Lee's 2016 remark, "You should never let your phone be taken away if you cause trouble," following the incident on the 29th of last month when former Director Yoo threw his phone out the window during a prosecution search.

Jeon said, "Isn't this malicious act a carbon copy of the 'Nondureong Watch Incident'?" drawing a parallel to past reports about the late former President Roh Moo-hyun.

The 'Nondureong Watch Incident' refers to an event in May 2009 when some media outlets reported that 'former President Roh testified that he threw a luxury watch he received from Park Yeon-cha, chairman of Taekwang Industrial, into a ditch.' The former president denied this as untrue, and ten days after the report, on May 23, he took his own life.

Earlier, Ha Tae-kyung, a People Power Party presidential candidate and member of the National Assembly, attacked by asking, "Did candidate Lee Jae-myung also instruct Yoo Dong-gyu to throw away his phone this time?"

Jeon emphasized, "What is the reason for stirring public sentiment by dredging up unrelated past remarks and fabricating false information?" and added, "The public will not be deceived by their ugly agitation and fabrication. We warn the People Power Party and some conservative media to stop their political manipulation immediately."

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