Lee Jae-myung, who toppled robot with a 'bang', lashes out at abuse controversy: "This is how we originally test"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is examining a quadruped robot from a participating company at the '2021 RoboWorld' held on the 28th at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, directly responded by calling it "fake news" after controversy arose over a scene where he knocked over a demonstration robot at a recent robot expo, with critics saying it was too aggressive.

On the 31st, Lee said on his Facebook, "Some media outlets are criticizing that 'Lee Jae-myung deliberately knocked over a robot at the robot expo.'"

Lee explained the situation at the time, saying, "The ability to withstand external shocks during mission execution and to restore posture after falling is a very important robot capability. This robot was tested for pursuit and then for falling, and as it was said to have posture recovery ability even if it falls, it performed a tumbling motion and excellently returned to its original posture. It was a performance worthy of praise, and I praised it."

He also attached footage of the robot test at the time and overseas robot test videos.

He pointed out, "Those unfamiliar with robot testing might misunderstand, but some media outlets are spreading fake news by showing only the scenes of knocking over the robot while deleting the recovery scenes and calling it aggressive."

He added, "This is no different from saying 'wielding a knife in a restaurant' just because you ate steak."

He continued, "If the media is proper, they should not distort with intent but report the whole truth," emphasizing, "I hope there will be no more poor reporting, distortion, or fabricated reports that damage the credibility of the media."

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, recently caused controversy for being aggressive after a scene of him knocking over a demonstration robot at a robot expo spread mainly through online communities. Many videos used in the communities have been edited to remove the part where the fallen robot recovers its posture. Online communities

Earlier, on the 28th, Lee attended the '2021 RoboWorld' event held at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. When Lee knocked over a quadruped walking robot from a participating company at the event, some criticized the act as being too aggressive.