"Lee Jun-seok Invitation Lecture Canceled"... Lee's Gyeongsang National University Lecture Canceled Due to Student Protests

Opposition Coalition: "Lee is a Politician Currently Under Party Disciplinary Procedures"

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 25th, checking documents before the meeting starts. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Gyeongsang National University attempted to hold a lecture by inviting Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, but eventually canceled the lecture due to student opposition.

On the 2nd, Gyeongsang National University announced through a statement that it had decided to cancel the 'Path of the Pioneer' invitation lecture. The university explained, "To help students develop creative future awareness and career planning, we planned a series of special lectures under the theme 'Path of the Pioneer,' inviting prominent figures from politics, economy, and academia. We requested special lectures from the representatives of the two parliamentary negotiation groups currently registered in the National Assembly, the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party, and the lecture by the People Power Party leader was scheduled first due to timing."

It continued, "We hoped to open the lectures by politicians who are difficult to meet directly in the region to local residents as well, so that the region and the university could form a consensus on major issues together. However, considering that the lecture by the leader of a specific political party during the sensitive period ahead of the 8th nationwide local elections on June 1 could cause unexpected political misunderstandings, we reluctantly decided to cancel the lecture."

Furthermore, "We hope that no further misunderstandings or unnecessary controversies arise regarding the purity of the special lecture, which was promoted for our students and local residents without any political intent. We apologize to those who showed interest in this Path of the Pioneer lecture," it added.

Promotional material for Gyeongsang National University special lecture website.
Photo by Gyeongsang National University website capture

Earlier, the university planned to hold a special lecture on the 3rd by inviting Lee Jun-seok under the theme 'The Power of Fairness and Common Sense.' The attendees were to include students, faculty, and local residents, and the university announced this in the school notice on the 27th of last month.

However, starting from the 29th of last month, a group called the 'Gyeongsang National University Student Union Strongly Condemning Lee Jun-seok's On-Campus Invitation Lecture' launched a petition and protests demanding the cancellation of the lecture.

They criticized Lee Jun-seok as "a politician currently under disciplinary procedures by the People Power Party's Ethics Committee due to allegations of 'sexual bribery' and 'evidence destruction,'" and stated, "With the local elections approaching, we want to question the intention behind Gyeongsang National University, which should be fair to all students, planning an invitation lecture by Lee Jun-seok, a symbol of misogyny, under the name of 'Fairness and Common Sense' as if nothing were wrong."

They further raised their voices, asking, "Who among the members of Gyeongsang National University is this lecture for?" and "We strongly condemn the university for trying to proceed with this invitation lecture hastily without gathering opinions from the enrolled students."

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