Inside 'Silence', Outside 'Criticism'... Lee Jae-myung Directly Targets Party and Media

Inside the Party, Media Faces Continuous Direct Criticism
Concerns Over Avoiding Responsibility by Blaming the Media

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The out-of-parliament activities of Lee Jae-myung, the leading candidate for the Democratic Party's party leader, have been causing controversy day after day. While Lee, who remains silent in the National Assembly, has begun active campaigning, he is making sharp remarks to supporters and party members. Not only the level of his remarks is controversial, but there are also criticisms that he is only blaming the media.

Lee, who has been in the National Assembly for about two months, has remained silent in response to questions from the media and political circles within Yeouido despite being a leading candidate for the party leadership. However, after passing the preliminary round of the party leader election on the 28th of last month, he opened his mouth while carrying out a regional tour schedule. On the 30th of last month, during a YouTube live broadcast while moving to Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Lee sparked controversy by saying, "Due to the media environment, there are many low-education, low-income supporters of the People Power Party."

His main targets of criticism are the party insiders and the media. On the broadcast, he said, "We gave them authority, but they do nothing, and our job is to make sure they don't feel this way," and added, "Many long-time party members worry when they see me. Because I am pushing too radical reforms." On the 1st, during a meeting with supporters and party members in Incheon, he directly criticized the Democratic Party by saying, "They are given several state-of-the-art tractors but do not use them."

On the 30th, during a schedule in Gangneung, he targeted the media, saying, "The side that controls the media, of course only some, maliciously distorts things, not delivering the good but delivering the bad, distorting it so that even things that do not exist appear to be true." He said, "Baekhyeon-dong was done by the government’s order," and added, "Since there is no charge, they cannot find anything, but still, articles claiming that Lee Jae-myung was reported are brazenly written, and no corrections are made."

Calling himself a ‘non-mainstream,’ he is distancing himself from the party and emphasizing a message of reform. However, such remarks are likely to be seen as Lee, who was a presidential candidate in the last election, shirking responsibility. On the 2nd, Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon criticized on a radio show, "When the opponent or the media points out something, he immediately distorts the purpose of his remarks and makes excuses," and said, "If the opponent or the media always distorts my remarks, I would have reflected on how I gave them the opportunity."

Regarding the series of controversies, Lee’s side explained, "Since he speaks comfortably during on-site remarks, there are many cases where his words are distorted and reported differently from the actual intent," and added, "He plans to clarify his thoughts at a press conference tomorrow (the 3rd)."

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