Won Hee-ryong's Wife: "Lee Jae-myung's 'Robot Flip' Was Heart-Stopping, Unconsciously Reflects Character"

"When a Child Throws a Dog-Shaped Toy, Mothers Scold"
"Violent Behavior Makes Anyone Uncomfortable"

On the 2nd, Kang Yoon-hyung, wife of Won Hee-ryong, a presidential primary candidate from the People Power Party and former governor of Jeju, appeared on the Chosun Ilbo YouTube channel 'Fact Bomb Sister.' Photo by YouTube capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Regarding the controversy over Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate's 'robot flipping,' Kang Yun-hyung, the wife of Won Hee-ryong, the People Power Party presidential primary candidate and Governor of Jeju, said, "It is normal to feel uncomfortable," adding, "My heart sank. It's scary."

On the 2nd, Kang appeared on the Chosun Ilbo YouTube channel 'Fact Bomb Sister' and was asked, "Do you think the criticism of the robot flipping controversy is excessive?" She replied, "Recently, people even stepped on the monument of former President Chun Doo-hwan..." and said, "Although the robot is not alive, who wouldn't feel uncomfortable with (Candidate Lee's actions)? Anyone normal would feel that way."

Kang said, "The robot is an inanimate object, but it can be a subject onto which people's emotions are projected. The feelings one experiences when looking at a dog are unconsciously reflected," adding, "If so, it is difficult to handle it so carelessly. Seeing such behavior allows one to infer certain things."

She continued, "Not everything is hidden. Such things are called issues of character," and explained, "When children throw dog-shaped toys, mothers scold them and teach respect for life and a careful attitude."

She added, "Just as parents try to moderate the child's violence reflected in throwing toy dogs, it is hard to say that there is no character reflected in the robot flipping incident."

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, attended the '2021 RoboWorld' held at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province on the 28th of last month, where he examined a quadruped robot. / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, on the 28th of last month, Candidate Lee attended '2021 RoboWorld' held at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, where he observed a demonstration of a quadruped robot developed for disaster response. During the robot performance test that day, Candidate Lee grabbed the robot's torso and flipped it over. Some officials present at the scene laughed, while others appeared surprised.

Some criticized Candidate Lee's actions as 'robot abuse.' Online, a photo comparing President Moon Jae-in carefully lifting a quadruped robot like handling a child at a past event with Candidate Lee's actions went viral.

Regarding this controversy, Candidate Lee responded on Facebook, saying, "Some media outlets criticize that 'Lee Jae-myung deliberately flipped the robot.' The ability to withstand external shocks during mission execution and to restore posture after falling is a very important capability of the robot," adding, "Showing only some scenes of flipping while deleting the recovery scenes and calling it extreme is fake news."

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