Controversy Over Sister-in-Law's Profanity: "An Issue Built Up Over Decades"
Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and his spouse greeting Busan citizens with a hand heart gesture. / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] On the 24th, when Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, shed tears while recalling his childhood during a speech in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, his wife Kim Hye-kyung also confessed, "I cried when I heard my husband's story."
Kim recently said in an interview with 'JoongAng Ilbo', "When I hear his voice crying loudly, I worry that I might cry too, so I lowered the TV volume whenever that news came on." It was reported that she also shed tears recalling Lee's Seongnam speech during the interview.
Regarding the controversies surrounding Lee, such as the 'sister-in-law curse recording file,' she said, "There are complex issues. It's not something that happened over one or two years, but things accumulated over decades," while emphasizing, "It is a regrettable matter and should not have happened. My husband must continue to take responsibility."
Kim described Lee as "a person strong in crisis," adding, "When waves of life come, whether family or political crises, he rather becomes calm."
She added, "(The people) seem to say that Lee Jae-myung is the only one who can bring about a great transformation in the crisis-ridden Republic of Korea. I also cast my vote for that."
Earlier, on the 24th, Lee visited Sangdaewon Market in Jungwon-gu, Seongnam, and gave a speech. Seongnam is Lee's 'political hometown' where he served as mayor and also the place where he endured a difficult childhood.
Candidate Lee shedding tears during a speech at Sangdaewon Market in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province / Photo by Yonhap News
On that day at the market, Lee explained, "This is the very place where Lee Jae-myung and his family made their living. On the dawn of February 23, 1976, when sleet was falling, I got off at the terminal Dandaeogeori, carried my luggage, and walked up here to the rented house."
About his family, he said, "My father worked as a cleaner at this market, and my mother guarded the public restroom with my younger sister, charging 10 won for urination and 20 won for defecation," emphasizing, "Many people still live with hardship. What the state must do is give courage to those who are struggling and in difficulty, provide jobs to the unemployed, and opportunities to those whose businesses are failing."
He then showed a choked-up expression, saying, "I worked hard and tried to live cleanly, and that's why I have come this far, but there are too many wounds."
Regarding the 'sister-in-law curse controversy,' he explained, "After becoming mayor, people who hated me started attacking me by involving my family. They tempted and worked on my mentally unstable brother, promising to make him the city council chairman if he drove me out, and my older brother began attacking me," and lamented, "My mother is like the sky to me. So I got angry and called, asking how a child could treat their parent like that, but he mocked me, saying I couldn't even understand such philosophical expressions."
Lee said, "I cursed. It was wrong to curse. As a public official, I should not have cursed and should have endured until the end," and repeatedly apologized, saying, "This will never happen again. I was wrong."
However, he shed tears and said, "I hope these issues stop reopening the painful wounds of our family now."
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