"Cultural Advanced Nation Han Shows This Side"... Foreign Media Also Focus on 'Unprecedentedly Unpopular Presidential Election'

The Times and US WP Deliver Harsh Criticism
Detailed Coverage of Controversies Surrounding Candidate and Family
"The Most Disgusting Election in History," "Nothing but Scandals and Quarrels"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and his spouse Kim Hye-kyung (left), Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, and his wife Kim Gun-hee / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] With less than a month remaining until the presidential election, various controversies surrounding the candidates and their families have erupted, and prominent overseas media outlets are also pouring out criticism, calling it "the most distasteful election in South Korea's democratization history."

The Sunday edition of the British media outlet The Times, the Sunday Times, on the 13th (local time), criticized the South Korean presidential election, calling it "the most disgusting in 35 years of presidential election history since democratization."

The Sunday Times pointed out, "South Korea is a country that has exported culture highly praised worldwide, such as K-pop, Oscar-winning films, and the drama 'Squid Game,'" but added, "Now in Seoul, a show is unfolding that vividly exposes the shabby appearance of the elites more than the movie 'Parasite'."

This criticism likened the various allegations raised against the presidential candidates to director Bong Joon-ho's film Parasite. Parasite, which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, is regarded as a masterpiece that brilliantly criticizes South Korea's wealth gap and the hypocritical aspects of the elite class.

The outlet introduced controversies involving the candidates' spouses, such as the so-called 'excessive protocol' controversy surrounding Kim Hye-kyung, wife of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party candidate, and the '7-hour recording' of Kim Gun-hee, wife of Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate.

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate (left), and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate / Photo by Yonhap News

It further stated, "Not only the candidates themselves but also their wives have apologized for the recent controversies," and evaluated, "Instead of debates on important domestic and international issues, corruption, fraud, shamanism, threats to journalists, and deception have engulfed the election."

Meanwhile, The Times is not the only foreign media outlet to harshly criticize this presidential election. Earlier, the American daily The Washington Post (WP) also gave a harsh review, saying the election is "marred by scandals, quarrels, and insults."

On the 8th, WP detailed allegations related to the candidates, stating, "Prominent presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung has been embroiled in a land development corruption scandal, and Yoon Seok-youl is linked to a self-proclaimed anal acupuncture practitioner." It also explained controversies involving the candidates' spouses, sons, and other family members.

The outlet noted, "Koreans are no strangers to political scandals. Former President Park Geun-hye was impeached in 2017 on charges of abuse of power, and there were suspicions of shamanistic politicians interfering in politics," but pointed out, "The upcoming presidential election has reached a new low, so much so that it is called 'the election of the least likable candidates'."

It added, "This South Korean presidential election is an important one that must shape the future in relations with North Korea, China, the United States, and Japan, amid intensifying domestic disputes over income and gender inequality and growing cultural influence abroad," but criticized, "Yet the two candidates offer only populism, such as health insurance for hair loss treatment or expanding smokers' rights, instead of substantive policy debates."

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