Lee Jun-seok Reiterates Explanation on 'Yoon Front Seat Shoe Incident': "Not a Lie... It Was in a Tunnel Section"

Some Netizens Point Out 'Photo Comparison'

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, was captured placing his feet, still wearing shoes, on an empty train seat, sparking controversy. Photo by Facebook screen capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, faced controversy after a photo was released showing him wearing shoes and resting his feet on the seat inside a train. In response, Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, explained, "This happened during the 10 minutes I was away from my seat." However, as netizens continued to raise concerns, Lee issued an additional explanation.

On the 13th, Lee posted on his Facebook, "Regarding the photo of our candidate putting his legs on the chair during the operation of the 'Passion Train,' our candidate has expressed regret," adding, "Regardless of the circumstances, it was a wrong act, and we will be more careful to pay attention to even the smallest details in the future."

He continued, "The seat in question is the space where the candidate and I sit facing each other and talk," explaining, "While I briefly went to the broadcasting car for about 10 minutes, the candidate, who had been sitting knee-to-knee with me for nearly an hour and had leg cramps, briefly put his legs up while talking with the staff during my absence."

Some netizens pointed out differences between the photo Lee released and the previously published photo showing the shoe on the seat, casting doubt on the claim that it happened "within 10 minutes." They noted differences in Yoon's outfit and the logo on his mask, as well as the darkness outside the window, indicating that the photos were taken at completely different times.

The photo showing Yoon's shoe on the seat had a dark view outside the window, unlike the photo shared by Lee. The mask Yoon wore also differed from the one in the photo with Lee. Netizens also pointed out that Yoon's outfit was different in the two photos.

Photo by Lee Jun-seok, captured from the Facebook page of the People Power Party leader

In response, Lee clarified again, "The 'Passion Train' operation ended at 4:38 PM on that day," adding, "Therefore, it never operated in the evening. It was a tunnel section."

Regarding the outfit suspicion, he said, "Yoon did not change clothes during the ride," and in response to the mask controversy, he questioned, "What is the problem with the candidate changing to a mask with a logo while broadcasting?"

Meanwhile, on the previous day (the 13th), Yoon issued a statement through the public relations team. He said, "Due to light leg cramps from long hours of travel, I asked the staff for understanding and briefly raised my legs. I regret the lack of attention to detail."

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