Song Eon-seok: "President Lee's Blatant Election Interference... Will Pursue Legal Action if It Continues"

President Lee's Recent Visits to Traditional Markets Face Criticism
People Power Party: "Clear Election Interference"

Song Unseok, floor leader of the People Power Party, stated on May 15 that President Lee Jaemyung's visits to traditional markets amount to "a blatant nationwide market tour campaign," adding, "If the President engages in electioneering one more time, we will pursue legal action."

On this day, Song expressed via his Facebook page, "There have been controversies over election interference with every previous president, but never has a president, with just over 20 days left before an election, personally toured traditional markets across the country every day to campaign," criticizing President Lee's recent activities.

On May 13, after finishing the 'K-Shipbuilding Future Vision Roundtable,' President Lee made a surprise visit to Ulsan Nammokmaseong Market. On May 14, he visited Moran Market in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to meet with citizens. On May 8, after attending the Parents' Day commemoration ceremony, he also visited Namdaemun Market, the largest traditional market in Korea.

Song Unseok, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the party's policy meeting held at the National Assembly on May 12, 2026. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Regarding these actions, Song argued, "In particular, Moran Market in Seongnam is President Lee's political hometown, and since Kim Byungwook, a candidate for Seongnam mayor, is a former presidential secretary for political affairs, the very choice of location is politically motivated and improper from the outset."

He continued, "When former President Park Geun-hye visited Daegu and Busan in 2016, the Democratic Party fiercely criticized it as election interference," and added, "At that time, it wasn't even a visit to a traditional market, but rather a normal part of presidential duties, yet the Democratic Party condemned it simply because it involved visiting certain regions."

After the second meeting of the Central Election Countermeasure Committee of the People Power Party held at the National Assembly on this day, Park Sunghoon, head of public relations, also stated, "Many members of the party leadership and lawmakers believe President Lee's recent actions constitute de facto election interference," adding, "We are also considering legal action."

He further commented, "When President Lee was in the opposition, he himself strongly argued that such actions constituted election interference," and added, "We hope he will reflect on his past positions and his current actions."

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