'Lee Time Magazine Interview' Opposition: "Illegal Allegations Are Fixed" VS Ruling Party: "If You Are Envious, You Lose"

On the 5th, Kim Eun-hye, Public Relations Director of the People Power Party's Election Committee, posted on Facebook "A Legal Card Candidate Recognized Worldwide"
Kang Byung-won, Chief Spokesperson of the Democratic Party's Election Committee, immediately rebutted, "Even the Interview Is Negative Campaigning"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is greeting supporters at the 'If We Do It, We Do It! GTX Extension Bringing Gyeonggi and Seoul Closer!' campaign event held on the 5th in front of Exit 1 of Pyeongtaek Station in Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Geum Bo-ryeong] The People Power Party raised voices of criticism over TIME magazine's interview article with Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea. In response, the Democratic Party immediately pushed back.

On the 5th, Kim Eun-hye, the spokesperson for the People Power Party's election campaign headquarters, stated on her Facebook, "The candidate recognized by the world as the 'law card' candidate, our choice should not be a source of shame."

Kim pointed out, "The globally renowned weekly magazine TIME has encapsulated the illegal allegations surrounding Candidate Lee and his family," adding, "No matter how much Lee's Democratic Party tries to overturn it by calling it fake news, they could not evade the sharp eyes of this prestigious media."

She continued, "Considering the 109 million won spent on advertisements in TIME and 169 million won on CNN during his tenure as Governor of Gyeonggi Province, the result is disappointing," emphasizing, "TIME pointed out the 'law card candidate' versus the 'rule of law candidate Yoon Seok-youl.' I believe the people's choice for the future our children will see and learn from will not be a source of shame."

Photo by Kim Eun-hye, Public Relations Director of the People Power Party Election Countermeasures Headquarters, Facebook capture

Kim also addressed the fact that Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, did not have an interview with TIME, saying, "For reference, TIME's interview offer to a leading presidential candidate was made to Candidate Yoon earlier, but due to scheduling conflicts, he was unable to respond." This was a rebuttal to the Democratic Party's statement the previous day that "Considering TIME's exclusive coverage of Candidate Lee, there is speculation that Washington and other U.S. political circles view him as the most likely president-elect of Korea."

Baek Ji-won, the senior deputy spokesperson of the campaign headquarters, also released a statement that day, calling the illegal allegations against Candidate Lee reported by TIME "a national disgrace." He pointed out, "In the full report, TIME described the 'grubby' presidential election situation, stating that 'Candidate Lee had to apologize for his son's illegal gambling, his wife Kim Hye-kyung's illegal hiring of a public official's private secretary, and misuse of corporate credit cards. Meanwhile, it was revealed that three people related to the (Daejang-dong) corruption allegations surrounding Candidate Lee have died.'"

Baek further sharpened his criticism, saying, "The Democratic Party should stop their self-victory mentality of 'for me' and feel ashamed."

The Democratic Party immediately countered. Kang Byung-won, the chief spokesperson for the Democratic Party's campaign headquarters, said, "They are resorting to negativity even against Candidate Lee's interview," explaining, "It has been common for Korean presidential candidates to be interviewed by TIME during elections."

Kang added, "This reflects and introduces the global interest in the candidate who will become president, in line with South Korea's elevated international status."

He then said, "Since it seems some have not seen it yet, I will return the TIME article featuring Candidate Yoon's encapsulation: 'False resume of his wife, stock price manipulation, shamanism, and anal acupuncture,'" adding, "People Power Party, who cannot see the beam in their own eye but only the speck in others', if you envy, you lose."

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