"Sinful Parent," "Humbly Accepting Public Criticism"... Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Seok-yeol Repeatedly Apologize Over Family Controversy

Lee "Conduct thorough verification as needed, take corresponding responsibility"
Yoon "Many 'fake' claims by Democratic Party differ from facts... Please make the right judgment"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate (left), and Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, expressed additional apologies regarding the family controversy.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seohyun] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, have provided additional statements regarding family-related allegations. Candidate Lee described himself as a "sinner with children" and stated he would take responsibility commensurate with the issues, while Candidate Yoon emphasized that he "humbly accepted the public's criticism and apologized," also pointing out that many of the Democratic Party's claims are not factual.

Both candidates attended the 89th anniversary memorial ceremony for patriot Yun Bong-gil held on the 19th at Hyochang Park in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. After the ceremony, Candidate Lee told reporters that regarding additional allegations related to his eldest son Lee Dong-ho’s college entrance issues, "Please conduct the necessary verification thoroughly, and I will take responsibility commensurate with any problems." He also apologized again, saying, "I am sorry once more."

Regarding the criticism that his eldest son’s bank deposits increased by 50 million won over two years without income, Lee responded, "It is all published in the official gazette." A Democratic Party campaign office official had explained the day before that this was a "legal gift." According to the official, Candidate Lee gifted 50 million won to his eldest son and reported this to the tax authorities. However, as direct ascendants can receive up to 50 million won in gifts exempt from taxation, no gift tax was paid.

Candidate Yoon also spoke to reporters after the memorial ceremony, emphasizing regarding allegations of false credentials by his wife Kim Gun-hee, "I humbly accepted the public’s criticism of my wife’s shortcomings and apologized." However, he added regarding the Democratic Party’s claim that Kim’s New York University-related credentials might be false, "Isn’t it true that many of the Democratic Party’s claims are fake and not factual? Please judge those parts carefully."

Meanwhile, Choi Ji-hyun, senior deputy spokesperson of the People Power Party campaign office, stated in a commentary that day, "The Democratic Party’s allegations of false training at New York University are 'fake news,'" and rebutted the Democratic Party’s claims by saying, "Kim attended the 2nd term (May 2006 to December 2006) of Seoul National University’s GLA (Global Leader Association) program, which included training at New York University." He added, "A certificate of completion was also issued. We will provide additional related materials as soon as they are obtained."

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