Lee Nak-yeon Side: "'Malicious Rumors of Supporting People Power Party... Lee Jung-jae Sponsorship Chairman Claim Also Groundless'"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 23rd, the camp of former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon actively refuted false rumors and reports such as "he supported the People Power Party" and "he served as the chairman of the support committee for Lee Jeong-jae, a preliminary candidate for Gwangju Superintendent of Education," calling them "groundless."

A representative from Lee's camp said in a phone call, "Malicious rumors that Lee supported the People Power Party are spreading through YouTube and other channels," emphasizing, "This is completely baseless."

They also explained that reports claiming Lee served as the chairman of the support committee for Lee Jeong-jae, the preliminary candidate for Gwangju Superintendent of Education, are not true either.

The representative stated, "On February 26 of this year, Lee sent a video congratulatory message to the preliminary candidate's book launch event and offered kind words, but he never made a declaration of support," adding, "Although the candidate requested Lee to serve as the chairman of the support committee, he did not accept."

Furthermore, "The candidate once held membership in the Saenuri Party, the predecessor of the People Power Party, for about a year and a half but left the party over ten years ago, and cooperated for the victory of the Democratic Party candidate in this presidential election," the representative said. "The candidate is also an elder in Lee's clan," they added. They concluded, "Considering all these circumstances, sending a congratulatory message for the book launch event was all that happened."

In the Gwangju Superintendent of Education election held alongside the June 1 local elections, five candidates including Park Hye-ja, Jeong Seong-hong, Kang Dong-wan, Lee Jeong-seon, and Lee Jeong-jae have declared their candidacy. Among them, the preliminary candidate Lee Jeong-jae ran for the Gwangju Superintendent of Education election in 2010 and 2014 and served as the chairman of the Saenuri Party Gwangju branch, the predecessor of the People Power Party. Recently, some have produced and distributed YouTube videos claiming that Lee's sending of a video congratulatory message to this candidate was a "declaration of support for the People Power Party."

However, a representative from Lee's camp said, "Ahead of the June 1 local elections, reports that are completely different from the facts are emerging, and baseless fake news claiming that Lee supported the People Power Party is going too far," adding, "We felt it necessary to actively clarify these points," and refuted the claims point by point.