Lee Jae-myung Stands Up Abruptly After Sitting in Pregnant Women’s Seat... Unfortunate Mistakes by Candidates

On the 11th, Lee Jae-myung Embarks on 'Subway Public Sentiment Exploration'
Sits in Pregnant Women Priority Seat, Quickly Stands Up After Citizen's Criticism
Citizens Criticize, "You Should Have Taken the Subway Regularly to Understand"

On the 11th, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, accidentally sat in a priority seat for pregnant women during a subway visit focused on public welfare. Photo by YouTube Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] On the 11th, Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, accidentally sat in a seat reserved for pregnant women during a subway visit event. After being pointed out by a citizen, Candidate Lee quickly stood up and smiled awkwardly, saying, "Such a critical mistake..."

Among netizens, some responded that he "sat down without checking," while others sarcastically commented, "You should have ridden the subway before to know." There were also criticisms that the event, which was intended to understand public sentiment and approach citizens in a friendly manner, instead revealed a gap between the candidate and the public.

On that day, Candidate Lee filmed a YouTube live video with the concept of "Riding the subway into the hearts of the people," traveling from Hyehwa Station on Seoul Subway Line 4 to Hongdae Entrance Station on Line 2. He approached citizens he met on the subway, greeted them, and took photos together, creating a warm atmosphere.

As he departed from Hyehwa Station and reached Dongdaemun Station, a seat became vacant. Candidate Lee glanced toward the seat and said, "A seat opened up, but it's almost time to get off," and immediately sat down there. This seat was a pink-marked seat reserved for pregnant women located at the edge of the subway car.

A citizen then said, "You shouldn't sit here," and Candidate Lee immediately stood up, realizing the seat was reserved for pregnant women, and laughed aloud, saying, "Ah, I see." He added, "I was wondering why it was empty. Such a critical mistake..." He said, "If we get caught in places like this, it's a big deal. If photos are taken, they'll say 'He doesn't even know about seats for the elderly or pregnant women,' and it will make the front page of the newspapers."

Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, sparked controversy last September during an intra-party primary debate when he appeared unfamiliar with the term "housing subscription savings account" while debating with former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min. The photo shows a screenshot summarizing the remarks of the two, which was shared on social networking services (SNS) at the time. Photo by Twitter

As Candidate Lee feared, the subway public sentiment visit event sparked controversy online. Netizens responded that "He was too busy talking with citizens to notice the seat reserved for pregnant women," showing a reaction that 'mistakes are okay,' but some criticized, saying, "The color is so noticeable, how could he not know?" and "It's such a common-sense norm for ordinary citizens, but he admitted to riding the subway for the first time."

During election campaigns, it has often happened that candidates reveal gaps in their understanding of citizens, causing controversy. Last September, Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, caused controversy during the party primary by making remarks that suggested he did not know about 'housing subscription savings.'

At the time, during a primary debate, when former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min asked, "Have you ever opened a housing subscription savings account?" Yoon replied, "I haven't because I don't own a house." Housing subscription savings accounts are for people without homes to apply for newly built apartments, so his answer was logically inconsistent.

Yoon's answer led to criticism that he "doesn't even know what a subscription savings account is," and the ruling party said, "How can he understand the pain of ordinary people suffering from monthly rent and loan issues if he doesn't even know the meaning of the subscription savings account?" and "His remarks are like driving a nail into the hearts of the vast majority of homeless ordinary citizens, youth, and newlyweds," condemning him.

Later, on the 31st of last month, in a video titled "Seok-youl Hyung's Restaurant" released on the official YouTube channel 'Yoon Seok-youl,' he appeared as a guest and said in a conversation with a panel, "I said, 'I haven't done it because I don't have a house,' right?" He added, "I can't not know about subscription savings. Many incidents happen because of subscription savings accounts." He further explained, "You apply for housing subscription because you don't have a house," calling his previous statement "illogical."

In March of last year, Park Young-sun, then the Democratic Party of Korea's Seoul mayoral candidate, took a night shift at a convenience store and listened to the concerns of a part-time worker. Photo by Yonhap News

Park Young-sun, former Minister of SMEs and Startups, was criticized for "lack of empathy" after she listened to the hardships of convenience store part-timers during a night shift experience while running as the Democratic Party candidate in last year's Seoul mayoral by-election, and then suggested to convenience store officials the introduction of 'unmanned stores.' At the time, her competitor, Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party, fiercely attacked her, saying, "She experienced working part-time at a convenience store and then proposed unmanned stores that would eliminate convenience store jobs, leaving us speechless."

Experts say that mistakes can happen during election campaigns, but it is important for candidates to show sincerity. Professor Shin Yul of Myongji University's Department of Political Science and Diplomacy said, "Candidate Lee sitting in a seat reserved for pregnant women is a mistake that can happen momentarily," adding, "It's better to immediately admit the mistake rather than pretending to know or putting on a show. Because he is a presidential candidate, such issues attract attention, but he just needs to avoid making such mistakes in the future."

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