"Crying While Holding His Son," Lee Jae-myung Faces Kim Jeong-hwa's "Tiresome Pleading Strategy"

"Busy Parents Lead Sons to Gambling?"
"Watching Incompetent Politicians Is a National Tragedy"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is giving a greeting at the presidential candidate meeting for small business and self-employed damage groups held at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 20th. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Former Minsaengdang leader Kim Jeonghwa sharply criticized the controversy surrounding the eldest son of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, involving illegal gambling and writing reviews for massage parlors, saying, "Is this going to end with a 'cheap tear show'?"

On the 21st, Kim shared an article on her Facebook titled "Candidate Lee held his son and cried" and said, "Is this another tiresome plea strategy?"

Kim said, "Don't try to be cunning. Blind paternal love driven by the desire to hold power is disgraceful," and questioned, "Did this happen because he was too busy for about two years and couldn't be close? If parents are busy, does a thirty-year-old son fall into gambling?"

She continued, "Enough with the nonsense. The shamelessness is 'top-tier,' and the excuses are 'historic level,'" adding, "Watching a politician with insufficient capability is a tragedy for the people. Stop making yourself a laughingstock. The 'national dignity crusher,' Candidate Lee's shelf life is already over," she criticized.

Former Minsaengdang Party Leader Kim Jeong-hwa. Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, on the 20th, Candidate Lee expressed his feelings about the allegations concerning his eldest son during an interview on KBS Radio's 'Joo Jin-woo Live,' saying, "My son and I held each other and cried. It was heartbreaking."

Lee explained, "I often talk with my children. We have a drink sometimes and I occasionally buy them meat," adding, "I was indicted at the end of 2018 and was mentally preoccupied with the trial for about two years, and until recently, I couldn't be close, so things happened during that time." He bowed his head, saying, "Having children is considered a parent's fault, so I must take responsibility. I feel both regretful and sorry to the public."

On the 16th, a media outlet raised suspicions of illegal gambling, reporting that a person presumed to be Candidate Lee's eldest son wrote over 200 posts on an online poker community board from January 2019 to July last year. In response, Candidate Lee issued a statement acknowledging that the person who joined the card game site mentioned in the media reports and posted was indeed his son, admitting to illegal gambling and apologizing.

On the same day, suspicions of prostitution arose as it was revealed that Candidate Lee's eldest son posted reviews of massage parlors in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province, on the same community. The eldest son wrote comments such as "Sh*t, I got internal injuries," and "They didn't even keep the massage time, damn it."

Regarding this, Candidate Lee said that while his son did use the massage parlor, he did not engage in prostitution, stating, "I don't know the details either, but since he swears he didn't, as a parent, I have no choice but to believe him."

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