Lee Su-jeong "Lee Jae-myung's 'Nephew Dating Murder Defense' Led to Decision to Join People Power Party"

Lee Su-jeong, Citing 'Lee Jae-myung's Nephew Defense' as Reason for Joining Yoon Seok-yeol's Campaign
"Will Balance Yoon's Women's Pledges to Prevent Bias"

Professor Lee Su-jeong, Criminal Psychology, Kyonggi University.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Professor Lee Soo-jung of Kyonggi University, specializing in criminal psychology, cited the defense case of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate's nephew involved in a dating murder case, as the reason for her recent joining as co-chair of the People Power Party's joint election countermeasures committee.

Earlier, on the 24th, candidate Lee mentioned on his Facebook the history of defending his nephew in a dating murder case, stating, "One of my relatives committed a serious crime of dating violence in the past. Since the family could not afford to hire a lawyer, I, being the only lawyer in the family, had no choice but to take on the defense." He added, "I offer my deep condolences and apologies to the victim and the bereaved family."

Some criticized candidate Lee for describing the case, in which two people including the victim's mother were brutally murdered, simply as 'dating violence.' In response, on the 26th, Lee posted on Facebook, "There is no intention to conceal the case by calling it dating violence," and apologized again, saying, "I am sorry for the hurt caused by my immature expression."

Regarding this, Professor Lee revealed in an interview with Hankyoreh released on the 29th that the reports on candidate Lee's nephew's dating murder defense were a decisive factor in her decision to join the election committee.

She said, "Last Sunday, I was contacted by candidate Yoon's side to help as an expert on women and children," adding, "There were so many news stories last week, including opposition to Lee Jun-seok's recruitment and candidate Lee's dating murder case, which influenced my decision to join the election committee."

She continued, "I have been insisting for over ten years that drinking should not be a mitigating factor," and said, "I think candidate Yoon must have considered female voters, so he did not waver in his intention to recruit me. I confirmed it for various reasons."

About her role within the election committee, she said, "I have been thinking about ways for society to live more safely without infringing on each other, especially how the vulnerable can live safely," and added, "I believe victim recovery should be addressed within the judicial system, and that severe punishment of perpetrators alone is insufficient. I hope to have more opportunities to strengthen policies reflecting such intentions."

Regarding the women's pledges made by candidate Yoon during the primary, she said she intends to maintain balance. Professor Lee stated, "Who the youth requesting (the pledges) are would have influenced decision-making. However, whether that youth represents all young people depends on one's stance," and added, "My role seems to be to maintain that balance. If it remains tilted like this, it should not be so when given the chance to lead the government."

Meanwhile, on the 29th, the People Power Party held a supreme council meeting at the National Assembly and decided on the election committee appointments. Along with Professor Lee, they recruited Assemblyman Cho Kyung-tae from the Hong Joon-pyo faction as co-chairs of the joint election committee.

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