Lee Jun-seok compares Yoon to a 'Distorted Hero'... Kim Ki-hyun says "He was referring to Lee Jae-myung"

Hong Jun-pyo "A former party leader doing worse than the Democratic Party"
Lee Jun-seok "Everyone is free to have their own associations"

Former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok likened President Yoon Suk-yeol to a character in the novel Our Twisted Hero on the 3rd, appealing for the "Cheon Ah Yongin" (candidates Chun Haram, Heo Eun-ah, Kim Yong-tae, and Lee Gi-in) to lead the story to a different ending through this party convention.

At a press conference held at the National Assembly that day, Lee said, "This party only receives support from the people's taxes but restricts the majority of the people's voting rights by not reflecting the people's will in the selection of leaders. Whenever someone tries to freely decide to run, a huge hand appears and strikes with a big whip, and hyenas rushing in bite with petitions, depriving them of their eligibility to run," criticizing the process.

This was interpreted as a direct attack on the so-called "Yoonhaekgwan" (key associates of President Yoon Suk-yeol) and pro-Yoon figures who pressured former lawmaker Na Kyung-won not to run for party leader during the March 8 party convention.

He then compared this situation to the novel’s protagonists Eom Seok-dae and Han Byung-tae (Cheon Ah Yongin), and the homeroom teacher (the people). Although Lee did not explicitly say who Eom Seok-dae represented, the context suggests he was referring to President Yoon.

In the novel, Eom Seok-dae maintains his power as class president by bullying transfer student Han Byung-tae, who resists him. However, when the homeroom teacher changes, Eom Seok-dae’s "kingdom" collapses.

Lee said, "Do you remember the students who were the most ruthless in reporting Eom Seok-dae when he fell? Those who upheld Eom Seok-dae’s power, enjoyed the benefits under his bizarre system, and led lynching others were the first to report and work to bring him down when the homeroom teacher asked them to write down Eom Seok-dae’s misdeeds." He added, "The homeroom teacher scolds Eom Seok-dae for being bad, but also punishes the key associates of Eom Seok-dae with five strikes each."

He recalled, "Six years ago, we were a group harshly scolded by the people. We all remember why we were scolded then," reminding of the downfall of former President Park Geun-hye and the pro-Park faction at the time. "Back then, there was also Eom Seok-dae and his key associates."

He continued, "Please let Chun Haram, Heo Eun-ah, Kim Yong-tae, and Lee Gi-in have greater power to point out the problems of the system that Eom Seok-dae is trying to build on behalf of the people," urging party members to write a different ending from the novel’s.

Regarding Lee’s press conference, party leadership candidate Kim Ki-hyun told reporters at the National Assembly, "After reading that statement, I understood that Eom Seok-dae referred to Lee Jae-myung (Democratic Party leader)."

Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo criticized on social media, "How can you compare our party’s president to the rogue Eom Seok-dae?" and added, "For someone who has even served as our party leader to do worse than the Democratic Party is neither polite nor proper."

Lee wrote on social media, "I never said who Eom Seok-dae was, so everyone is free to associate him with whomever they think."