Lee Jae-myung's 'Busan Remarks' Controversy... Regional Disparagement DNA Inheritance VS Self-Serving Interpretation (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] The Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung's comment that "Honestly, Busan is boring. Well, it's fun but not like Gangnam" drew criticism from the People Power Party on the 14th.

Earlier, at a meeting with startup and social venture representatives in Busan the previous day, Candidate Lee said, "Busan is boring, honestly," then added, "It's fun, but there is an aspect that it's not like Gangnam, especially for young people." The remark came while explaining the need for regional balanced development.

Kim Byung-min, spokesperson for People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl, issued a statement that day calling Lee's remark "a disparaging comment about the Busan region, revealing a surprising inner attitude," and urged a public apology.

Spokesperson Kim recalled that former Democratic Party leader Lee Hae-chan, who serves as a senior advisor to Lee's campaign, caused controversy in the past by saying Busan was a "shabby city" during a visit, and criticized, "At this point, shouldn't we clearly ask whether Candidate Lee Jae-myung is trying to inherit the Democratic Party's regional disparagement DNA?"

He continued, "Not only is the disparaging comment about Busan shocking, but the additional explanation that followed is equally absurd," and questioned, "Is he confessing that it has to be like Gangnam to be fun?"

Park Soo-young, a lawmaker representing Busan, harshly criticized on his SNS, "Former leader Lee Hae-chan said 'Busan is shabby,' former Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung said 'Busan is boring,' do these guys look down on Busan?"

The People Party also released a statement under spokesperson Yoon Young-hee's name, saying, "A representative's words reflect the organization's thoughts, so is this really befitting of the Democratic Party's presidential candidate?" and criticized, "Following former leader Lee Hae-chan's disparaging remarks about Busan last year, Candidate Lee's disparagement of Busan reveals the Democratic Party's deeply rooted foul-mouthed DNA."

Justice Party leader Yeo Young-guk criticized on Facebook, "It insulted citizens struggling to revive cities declining due to concentration in the metropolitan area and youth outflow," adding, "This is not only disparaging Busan but also all non-metropolitan regions."

In response to such opposition criticism, Democratic Party campaign spokesperson Lee So-young rebutted in a written briefing, "Candidate Lee Jae-myung mentioned the need for regional balanced development and spoke about the efforts needed to create 'Busan where young people want to live and gather,'" and accused, "People Power Party figures are recklessly interpreting his remarks to suit their own interests."

Spokesperson Lee further pointed out, "People Power Party should be ashamed for attacking the difficult reality Busan faces as a political weapon against the opposing candidate, while lacking proper policy alternatives to make Busan a place where young people want to work more than in Gangnam."

Regarding Candidate Lee's encouragement of SNS activity when meeting citizens at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) square on the 12th, opposition parties also raised criticism.

At that time, he said, "The media environment is very bad, so even if we did nothing wrong, rumors spread as if we did. The other side does terrible things but it passes without issue," and urged, "Let's use our KakaoTalk, our Telegram rooms, comments, and communities to actively expose the truth ignored by the media and correct the distorted information unfairly spread about us."

In response, People Power Party chief spokesperson Heo Eun-ah criticized in a statement, "We cannot help but worry whether Candidate Lee's remarks might lead to a second or third 'Druking' incident."

Party leader Lee Jun-seok said during a Q&A after demonstrating the party-developed comment manipulation response program 'Kraken' that day, "Candidate Lee Jae-myung benefited from the 'Finger Revolution Army' style of organized public opinion when he started his political career, so it would be hard for him to resist encouraging it."

Leader Lee added, "Therefore, I expect attempts to distort public opinion," and said, "For a presidential candidate's actions, it is petty and above all close to old-fashioned tactics."

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