Lee Jun-seok's Tears... Ruling Party: "Devil's Tear Show," Opposition: "Preliminary Farewell Press Conference?"

Ahn Cheol-soo "Evil's Tear Show"
Hwang Hee-doo "No Sympathy Regardless of Party Support"
Hong Joon-pyo "Timely"

Former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok showed tears on the 16th while demanding a "government reform" from the Presidential Office, prompting a cold response from the opposition, who asked, "Is this a preliminary farewell press conference?" Meanwhile, in the ruling party, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, who recently had a verbal exchange with Lee, described it as "timely."

Jung Cheong-rae, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, shared a photo of Lee wiping his tears with his sleeve on his social media (SNS) that day, responding coldly, "Is this a preliminary farewell press conference?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee held a press conference at the National Assembly in the morning, criticizing President Yoon and the ruling party's overall governance and urging them to take responsibility. He showed tears during this process, and the photo shared by Jung was taken at that moment.

Hwang Hee-doo, a director at the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, commented on SNS, "(Lee's tears) created a mostly puzzled atmosphere except among his supporters," adding, "This is not because his tears themselves are wrong, but because of the image he has shown so far."

He pointed out, "Until now, he has displayed a rational and logical demeanor rather than empathy and consolation for others' sadness and pain, shooting arrows diligently. Lee Jun-seok himself has built his influence by wrapping others' wounds in 'humor' and trampling on them," and said, "Regardless of party affiliation, it is natural that people do not sympathize with his tears."

There was also a harsh reaction within the ruling party. Ahn Cheol-soo, a People Power Party lawmaker who is pushing for Lee's expulsion, criticized, "To avoid the flames of expulsion, he directly attacked the president and the party, putting on a devil's tear show, but aside from the acting, no sincerity was visible," repeating, "To avoid the flames of expulsion, he directly attacked the president and the party, putting on a devil's tear show, but aside from the acting, no sincerity was visible."

He added, "It is obvious that he is trying to build a pretext to leave the party if expelled by showing a tear show," and said, "However, it is too late to appeal to the party's sentiment with a tear show."

Ahn said, "Listening to his acted devil's tear show and sophistry once again makes me think that Lee Jun-seok must be expelled for the party to survive," and requested, "I ask the Ethics Committee to carefully consider this point."

There are also voices positively evaluating his press conference. Mayor Hong said on SNS, "Reading Lee's press conference statement, it is timely, but in our party, the wrong vested interest cartel of 'us only' is too strong rather than a culture that supports correct words," adding, "This is because the wrong political culture that political life is long if you line up well has deepened."

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