People Power Party urges Lee Jae-myung to "Sincerely Apologize for 'Ukraine Remarks'"

Kwon Young-se "Typical Water Ghost Tactics... Similar to Shifting Responsibility in 'Daejang-dong Gate'"
Won Il-hee Spokesperson "Insufficient with Ambiguous Explanation"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, is preparing for a debate at the 2nd political field broadcast debate for the 20th presidential election, hosted by the National Election Commission, held on the 25th at the SBS studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Geum Bo-ryeong] The People Power Party has urged Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, to apologize again regarding his 'Ukraine remarks.'

On the 27th, Kwon Young-se, head of the People Power Party's election campaign headquarters, stated in a press release, "Candidate Lee should sincerely apologize again to the people of Ukraine."

During a TV debate on the 25th, Candidate Lee mentioned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying, "A novice politician who had been in Ukraine for six months became president and declared NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) membership, provoking Russia, which eventually led to the conflict."

When this remark sparked controversy, Candidate Lee posted on Facebook the previous day, saying, "I did not belittle the President of Ukraine but pointed out the unstable diplomacy and security views of Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate. However, if my words caused any misunderstanding to the people of Ukraine, even partially, it was due to my lack of expression," and apologized.

Regarding this, Head Kwon criticized, "Candidate Lee's apology is not a 'genuine' apology; rather, it implies that he is unfairly claiming that not only he was wrong but also Candidate Yoon was at fault," adding, "This is very similar to the typical tactic of shifting responsibility for the 'Daejang-dong Gate' to Candidate Yoon."

Won Il-hee, spokesperson for the election campaign headquarters, also issued a statement, saying, "We publicly question the Democratic Party and Candidate Lee," and asked, "Do you really believe that the war broke out because the President of Ukraine provoked Russia?"

Along with this, Spokesperson Won said, "Candidate Lee has recently blamed the Ukrainian leader in every campaign speech," and countered, "Then, was the Korean War (June 25 War) also caused by President Rhee Syngman provoking North Korea?"

Spokesperson Won further criticized, "The public wonders what is essentially different between the reality of Russia invading Ukraine and North Korea threatening us with nuclear weapons and missiles," and added, "Candidate Lee's remarks and perception that the Ukraine crisis is due to the Ukrainian president provoking Russia cannot be sufficiently explained by ambiguous excuses."

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