Lee Jae-myung "Don't Exaggerate" Lee Nak-yeon "Election Law Violation Issue"

Attention on the Impact of the 5-Week Delayed Primary Schedule

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Park Cheol-eung, Koo Chae-eun] The fierce exchanges between the two candidates, Lee Jae-myung and Lee Nak-yeon, are intensifying. Regarding the defamation of former representative Lee Nak-yeon by public officials of related institutions in Gyeonggi Province, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung responded by calling it "exaggeration." Former representative Lee Nak-yeon sharply retorted to Lee’s camp’s criticism of "praising Park Chung-hee," saying, "You say that because you are somewhat impatient or anxious." Attention is also focused on how the five-week delayed Democratic Party primary schedule will affect the race.

On the 20th, Governor Lee appeared on KBS Radio’s ‘Choi Kang Sisa’ and said, "It wasn’t even a public official but one of the supporters who made the defamatory remarks against former representative Lee, and immediate audits, severe disciplinary actions, and suspension from duty were taken." He added, "They are hiding their serious problems and exaggerating the issue, but compared to the manipulated comments circulating on the internet, it’s a mere drop in the bucket." He also said, "Verification should be done regarding relatives or close aides."

On the same day, former representative Lee appeared on MBC Radio’s ‘Kim Jong-bae’s Focus’ and showed a firm stance. He emphasized, "If election laws were violated and public officials did things they shouldn’t have, it should be viewed as a legal issue." Regarding the suspicion of praising former President Park Chung-hee, he said bluntly, "If that were true, would I have received the nomination from President Kim Dae-jung? I served four terms as a member of the National Assembly in Jeonnam and as governor, and it has never been an issue. You say that because you are impatient or anxious."

As the intensity of the exchanges between both sides escalated, Lee Sang-min, the Democratic Party’s election commission chairman, warned, "We must play fair and also play nice." However, with the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate selection date postponed from September 5 to October 10, the exchanges are expected to heat up further.

Governor Lee still maintains his position as the ‘front-runner,’ but former representative Lee’s momentum is fierce. Lee’s camp wanted to finalize the schedule as planned, but they could not ignore the unexpected variable of the fourth wave of COVID-19. With more time until the candidate selection, both sides inevitably feel a greater urgency not to fall behind.

Recent public opinion polls often describe Governor Lee’s support as ‘stalling’ and former representative Lee’s as ‘rising.’ Although Governor Lee’s approval rating has plateaued, when looking at multiple candidates from both ruling and opposition parties, he still leads former representative Lee by about 10 percentage points in many cases. It is true that former representative Lee is still at a significant disadvantage, but he has gained more time to catch up.

Former representative Lee’s camp is considering a runoff vote. If no candidate obtains a majority, only the top two candidates compete again, and in that case, votes from supporters of other candidates are expected to consolidate behind former representative Lee. Of course, trends can change at any time, and whether a fatal blow will emerge from the recent heated exchanges could influence the outcome.