Lee Jun-seok, who stopped the 'Myeolkong Certification' relay, says "Politicians around the candidate are making the issue bigger"

Some Lawmakers Filmed Similar Videos in Reality
"Highlighting Ideological Aspects Is Not Right for Election Strategy"

Lee Jun-seok, Leader of the People Power Party [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Lee Jun-seok, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, expressed a negative reaction to the recent 'Myeol-kong certification' relay. The Myeol-kong certification began last weekend when Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, visited E-Mart, a large supermarket affiliated with the Shinsegae Group, and shopped for anchovies and beans. Recently, Shin Yong-jin, Vice Chairman of Shinsegae, posted on his Instagram with the hashtag '#Myeol-gong' but deleted it due to reasons of violence and incitement. Yoon’s purchase of ramen, anchovies, and medicinal beans at E-Mart appeared to support this. Former lawmaker Na Kyung-won and former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung followed suit, making it an even bigger topic.

On the 11th, Lee appeared on CBS Radio and said, "During election times, politicians within the party or those around the candidates sometimes escalate issues." He added, "While it can be done in a personal capacity, it is quite burdensome when party-affiliated politicians take this up in a relay format as a campaign. I have asked them to refrain." Lee confirmed that some offices of lawmakers had filmed similar videos.

Lee added, "There was a heated debate among us about whether it is right from an election strategy perspective to elevate such ideological matters solely under the pretext of freedom of expression."

He further analyzed, "Even if the candidate delivered a Myeol-gong message, spelling it out letter by letter with hashtags could be seen by people as the candidate being simply cheerful and they might overlook it. However, if many push this forward, it could continue and have a negative long-term impact on the election."

Meanwhile, Lee also mentioned that Yoon is taking a lot of advice from his 2030 youth aides regarding publicity.

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