Lee Jae-myung "Went to the factory, the manager said Gyeongsangdo junior staff are Jeollado"
Lee Jun-seok criticizes "Irresponsible gaslighting remarks"
Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, attended the 'Maetaverse Goyang, Into the Hearts of the People!' event held at Hwajeong Station Cultural Square in Gyeonggi-do on the 26th and gave an impromptu speech. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group
[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, visited Gwangju on the 27th and mentioned his days as a child laborer, claiming, "The managers were people from Gyeongsang Province, but all the rank-and-file workers were from Jeolla Province." In response, Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, criticized the candidate, saying, "He is dividing the people by region."
On the afternoon of the same day, Lee recalled his childhood labor days during a speech on Chungjang-ro Street in Gwangju. He said, "When I went to a factory at the age of 13, I noticed a strange phenomenon." He added, "I am from Andong, Gyeongbuk, but after finishing elementary school and getting a job at a factory in Seongnam, the managers were from Gyeongsang Province, but all the rank-and-file workers were from Jeolla Province. I even thought absurdly, 'Why am I from Gyeongsang Province but not a manager?' The difference was that big."
He continued, "In May 1980, I worked at a watch factory, and there was a trend among us to insult Gwangju." He confessed, "Since the media said they were bad people, that they killed soldiers and took guns from the police station, I not only thought they were bad people but also joined in the insults with a shallow sense of justice."
He then said, "I later realized that the Park Chung-hee regime made concentrated investments in Gyeongsang Province to secure its governance structure while partially neglecting Jeolla Province, which led to conflicts."
Lee also said, "My mother gave me physical life, but Gwangju is the social mother that gave me a new birth socially," adding, "Therefore, I am the social son born of Gwangju."
In response, Lee Jun-seok directly attacked the candidate, calling his remarks "statements that incite regional conflict." On the same day, he posted on his Facebook, saying, "It seems that Lee Jae-myung still has a mindset that divides the people into Gyeongsang and Jeolla Provinces," referring to the candidate as a "bad politician."
He said, "We have wasted 40 years deceived by regional sentiments used every election, and Daegu and Gwangju, which they always dragged into this, consistently rank low in GRDP (Gross Regional Domestic Product) rankings," and requested, "I ask the rational voters of Honam to reject such irresponsible remarks inciting regional conflict by the candidate. Show that Honam will never fall for such gaslighting remarks from the Democratic Party again."
In turn, the Democratic Party responded to Lee Jun-seok, saying, "If you truly think regional conflict is a problem, why do you say nothing about political reform?"
Choi Ji-eun, spokesperson for the election campaign committee, wrote on Facebook, "Instead of the old-fashioned regional conflict issues like 'Are we not one in Busan?' and then blaming regional conflict in Honam, let's talk about real change," adding, "Shouldn't we change the political system so that our generation no longer carries the burden of such outdated regional conflicts? I hope Lee Jun-seok will express his position on the political reform issue raised by the Democratic Party."
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