Lee Jae-myung switches campaign method to private... Park Min-young says "Innovative solution that gives up promotion"

Lee Jae-myung, the general election campaign committee chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea and a candidate for the National Assembly in Gyeyang-eul, Incheon, is campaigning around Gyulhyeon-dong, Gyeyang-gu, Incheon on the 20th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Gun-chan] Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea candidate for the Incheon Gyeyang-eul by-election, has switched his campaign method to a private format. Following Lee’s decision to make his campaign private, Park Min-young, spokesperson for the People Power Party, said, "Giving up on publicity as a solution is quite novel."

On the 25th, Park posted on his Facebook, "Lee Jae-myung’s campaign has been switched to private. Instead of correcting mistakes, giving up on publicity as a solution is quite novel," adding, "It’s really unfortunate that good spectacles have disappeared."

Lee’s camp reportedly decided not to disclose detailed schedules of the candidate’s local campaign events going forward. The reason is that when the routes were disclosed in detail, many hardcore supporter YouTubers flocked to the locations, causing frequent complaints from local residents.

Since declaring his candidacy on the 8th, Lee had made most of his schedule public. However, from the 25th, the campaign route has been simply marked as "around Gyeyang-gu."

A representative from Lee’s campaign told the media, "When sharing schedules while meeting residents, supporters and YouTubers come to the site and listen to conversations, which causes discomfort," and added, "We considered that meeting in a comfortable state for both sides is necessary for genuine communication."

He also said, "The candidate aimed for a calm campaign from the moment he arrived in Gyeyang-gu, but since he cannot block supporters who come to visit, the schedule was made private."

The frequency of live broadcasts of campaign events on Lee’s YouTube channel has also decreased. Scenes that caused controversy during Lee’s campaign?such as stepping onto a bench wearing shoes, pushing a child to give an impromptu speech, and being hit by a metal bowl thrown by a citizen?were all revealed through Lee’s YouTube channel.

Lee has previously stated that broadcasting the campaign process live online "helps protect me from manipulation, distortion, and agitation."