Lee Hae-chan "It Seems We Won the Seoul Mayoral Election"... Opposition "Are You a Victory Preacher?" Booing

Former Lee Hae-chan, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Former Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Hae-chan appeared to express confidence in the ruling party's victory by saying, "It seems we have almost won," regarding the Seoul mayoral by-election, prompting the opposition parties to criticize him with remarks such as 'victory pleader' and 'pitiful situation.'

On the 20th, Lee appeared on broadcaster Kim Eo-jun's YouTube show "Kim Eo-jun's Dasbweida," mentioning suspicions about People Power Party's Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon's land in Naegok-dong, and claimed, "I thought the election would be very difficult, but seeing how things are going lately, it seems (the ruling party) has almost won."

Lee also referred to the recent Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) scandal, saying, "We made mistakes in management, but candidate Oh Se-hoon did what he did himself, so it's a different level," and added, "I don't think there's a need to be discouraged because of this."

In response, the opposition parties showered him with jeers such as 'victory pleader' and 'pitiful.'

People Power Party lawmaker Kim Ki-hyun wrote on his Facebook on the 21st, "The 'bursting' former prime minister Lee Hae-chan, the owner and behind-the-scenes king (上王) of the Democratic Party, has finally reappeared," sarcastically adding, "It's pitiful that the Democratic Party cannot escape the miserable situation of having to rely on the regency of the king."

Kim also referred to Lee calling the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon's sexual harassment victim a 'victim pleader,' saying, "I have never heard that Lee Hae-chan apologized for his secondary harm by calling her a victim pleader," and criticized, "If he wants to support Park Young-sun (Democratic Party Seoul mayoral candidate), he should at least first offer a sincere apology for the responsibility of calling the victim a victim pleader and preventing the truth investigation from being completed."

Another lawmaker from the same party, Kim Woong, also targeted Lee on Facebook on the 20th, calling him a "victory pleader" and sarcastically saying, "It's petty and embarrassing, so I won't mention it further."

Meanwhile, after stepping down as Democratic Party leader in August last year and hardly engaging in political activities, Lee has recently appeared consecutively on YouTube and radio about three weeks before the April 7 Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections, harshly criticizing opposition politicians.

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