[On Site in] Lee Jae-myung Targets Yoon: "We Should Not Have a President Who Likes War" Opens Campaign in Gangwon

Lee Jae-myung, Democratic Party Candidate
Visits Hongcheon on First Early Voting Day
Directly Challenges Yoon's Security Views: "Participation is Key to Winning"

[Hongcheon, Gangwon Province = Reporter Gu Chae-eun] At 11:45 a.m. on the 4th, Hongcheon Central Market located on Hongcheon-ro 8-gil in Wonju-si, Gangwon Province. Next to the red signboard of ‘多(da)inneun Hongcheon Central Market,’ the campaign vehicle of Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, was parked. Around the campaign stage, dozens of people stood behind a blue partition waving blue balloons. They were a crowd waiting for candidate Lee. People who appeared to be supporters chanted ‘Lee Jae-myung’ here.

Candidate Lee visited Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, as his first local campaign schedule on the first day of early voting. This place was also the site where candidate Yoon campaigned on the 28th of last month. At the entrance of Kkotmoe Park opposite the market entrance, a banner of Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party candidate, was hung with the phrase ‘Early Construction Promotion of Yongmun~Hongcheon Railroad.’ Across from Kkotmoe Park, at the market entrance road, there was a campaign vehicle. Candidate Lee chose this place as his first campaign area on the day early voting started.

In the space crowded with supporters, a flag fluttered with the phrase ‘During the day a gut ritual, at night a drinking party, a choice that ruins the country,’ and there were people holding ‘National Victory 2022’ placards. Signs saying ‘No development of Hongcheon County without relocation of the Aviation University’ and ‘Firm Pragmatism, Certain National Security’ also caught the eye. A flag depicting a shaman holding a fan had the phrase ‘Cannot turn the Blue House into a gut ritual site’ written on it.

At 12:08 p.m., when candidate Lee stepped onto the stage, cheers erupted from the supporters. Standing on the podium, candidate Lee targeted candidate Yoon, saying, “We cannot have a president who likes war,” and “Even if you try to borrow a brain, you need to have one.” He said, “The People Power Party must stop inciting security anxiety. The defense budget ratio was usually 5-6% under conservative governments, but during the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations, it was much higher at 7-8%. Under the People Power Party government, there were cases of military service corruption and defense corruption.” He added, “We should not think that manipulating and provoking security issues through anxiety will gain more conservative votes. The state’s duty is to protect the lives of our people from war, disasters, diseases, and calamities.”

Considering that Hongcheon has a large agricultural population, candidate Lee said, “The huge budgets to be used for us will not be spent on the Four Major Rivers Project or THAAD purchases, but farmers will receive a basic income so that they can have children and live in rural areas.” He emphasized, “We will definitely create a world where people in Hongcheon can find jobs, meet friends, get married, and raise children.”

He also repeatedly encouraged voting. He said, “How much is the value of one ballot? I calculated it to be 67.87 million won.” He explained, “I divided the budget the president uses over five years by the number of voters.” Then he criticized, “They built the Four Major Rivers Project, committed defense corruption, and bought wells under the pretext of overseas resources, but it turned out that 90% was water. They probably bought and sold it for trillions and hundreds of billions. They took it all for themselves.” He pointed out, “In the end, if we entrust such people, the huge budgets to be used for us will end up being spent on rebuilding the Four Major Rivers or buying THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) that only worsens the economy unnecessarily.”

After the speech ended, candidate Lee raised his fist with a thumbs-up and waved it in response to the chant of ‘Lee Jae-myung.’ Supporters responded by shouting ‘Candidate No. 1 Lee Jae-myung’ every time he paused during his speech.

However, as one moved away from the entrance of Hongcheon Central Market and headed inside, there were many citizens favorable to candidate Yoon. Kim (51), who came to vote early, said, “Compared to when candidate Yoon came, there are only about one-third of the people now,” adding, “(Back then) it was in front of the Saemaeul Geumgo, many celebrities came, and some people were in tears. It’s a big difference compared to now.” Jeong (43) said, “Whenever I see candidate Lee, I immediately recall the audio of his sister-in-law’s curse, so I don’t like him. I voted for candidate Yoon.” Seong (64), who runs a fruit and vegetable store, said, “My wife and daughter support different candidates, but at this point, I think there is a need to change the administration once.”

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