Lee Jun-seok, from Singing to Film, Directly Attacks Yoon: "The Emperor Lacks Confidence and Stabs the Gladiator's Side"

Comparing Yoon to the Roman Emperor Who Killed His Own Father

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the 21st, former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok expressed his feelings through the lyrics of Disney's animation 'The Lion King,' and on the 22nd, he directly criticized President Yoon Seok-yeol by mentioning the movie 'Gladiator.'

On the night of the same day, Lee appeared on MBN's 'Pandora' and, in response to the host's question, "How about opening the way for your return as party leader?" he referred to the movie 'Gladiator' to explain his situation, saying, "Eventually, the gladiator gains the public's popularity, and to suppress that popularity, the emperor himself has no choice but to fight the gladiator directly."

He added, "But since the emperor lacks confidence, he stabs his side with a knife before the match begins."

'Gladiator' is a film about the revenge of Maximus, a Roman general favored by the emperor. Maximus loses his family due to the conspiracy of Commodus, who murdered his biological father, the emperor, and took the throne, and after becoming a gladiator, he succeeds in his revenge. Lee Jun-seok is interpreted as likening himself to Maximus and President Yoon to Commodus.

In particular, Lee's comparison of himself to a 'gladiator' implies that even if the path to his return opens, there is a high possibility of opposition from President Yoon and Yoon's key aides (Yoon 핵관) during the party convention process. He said, "If someone opens the opportunity to run in the party convention and suggests a compromise to hold the convention in January (next year), then around November, something will suddenly appear again and stab the side once more before starting," adding, "They will create a situation where running in the party convention is meaningless."

When asked, "Then what should be proposed?" targeting Yoon 핵관, he said, "Unconditional surrender," adding, "They must admit all their wrongdoings. But how can that be reasonable? How dare they demand such things from the president and those people?"

Earlier, Lee also appeared on YTN's 'Evening News with News' and regarding the injunction application to suspend the effectiveness of the emergency committee launch, he said, "If the injunction is granted, many people will have to take responsibility," and "Yoon 핵관 should resign and take full responsibility."

When asked whether there is room to reconsider the main lawsuit depending on Yoon 핵관's apology, he said, "The time has passed," and criticized, "Two people with considerable power in South Korea were caught talking behind my back, but there was no explanation or expression of regret, and they switched to an emergency committee to strip me of the party leadership." The 'two people' Lee referred to are President Yoon and floor leader Kwon Seong-dong.

Regarding the warning statement issued by the party's Central Ethics Committee after his 'Yangduguyuk' remark, he said, "Politicians speak with words, and if the Ethics Committee tries to regulate expressions, politics will be trivialized," adding, "If that's the case, all four-character idioms involving animal metaphors should be banned in the future." Meanwhile, related to this, Lee Yang-hee, the People Power Party Ethics Committee Chair, stated that the warning statement "was absolutely not aimed at specific individuals such as Lee Jun-seok."

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