Lee Jae-myung's Controversy Over "No Honam-led Integration" Remarks
Lee Nak-yeon Calls It a "Reasonable Issue"
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The conflict between the top two Democratic Party presidential candidates, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung and former party leader Lee Nak-yeon, is reaching its peak. The issues are dominated by negative tactics such as impeachment and regional sentiments. On the 26th, they clashed once again over the ‘Baekje remarks’ following the previous day.
Former leader Lee appeared on the radio that day and said, "Looking at Governor Lee’s interview, it is reasonable to raise concerns," rebutting the governor’s side’s objection to "not distorting the remarks." On the 23rd, Governor Lee said in a media interview, "In 5,000 years of history, there has never been an example where Baekje and Honam took the lead to unify the entire Korean Peninsula." Criticism immediately came from Lee Nak-yeon’s side, who is from Jeonnam, accusing it of fostering ‘regionalism.’ On this day as well, Lee Nak-yeon pointed out, "I am talking about expansion by connecting people and regions," adding, "(Because of this) not only me but also politicians belonging to other parties inside and outside the party are equally criticized as (regionalism)." Despite the negative controversy, he clearly intends to speak his mind.
However, Governor Lee’s side continued to push back, saying, "It was a compliment," and rather accusing former leader Lee of failing to understand the context and distorting the remarks. Park Sung-jun, a lawmaker serving as the spokesperson for Governor Lee’s Open Camp, said on the radio that day, "(The Baekje remarks) were a sincere message that if former leader Lee wins the presidential election, it will be history." He strongly countered, "Such offensives are a regression of democracy."
The conflict between the two presidential candidates is becoming sharper as their support rates narrow. According to the results of a survey on the suitability of the next presidential candidates conducted by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI) commissioned by TBS (from the 23rd to 24th, targeting 1,006 people nationwide aged 18 and over, with a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level), former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl ranked first with 26.9%, Governor Lee second with 26.0%, and former leader Lee third with 18.2%. Among progressive candidates, Governor Lee had 27.4% and former leader Lee had 23.1%, with a gap of only 4.3 percentage points. On the 9th to 10th, this difference was 9.1 percentage points.
As the negative exchanges showed signs of overheating, the Democratic Party decided to hold a ‘Gentlemen’s Agreement Ceremony’ on the 28th to urge candidates to exercise restraint. Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil strongly urged at the Supreme Council meeting that day, "It is very regrettable that regionalism controversies are occurring," and said, "Let us all move forward with a one-team spirit."
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