"'Amkeot Seolchyeo' Society Is Hard to Believe"
"Half of Voters Are Women... People Like Me Are Needed"
Professor Lee Soo-jung of the Department of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University, well known to the public as a crime case advisor on current affairs and educational programs, has attracted attention by revealing her intention to run for the Suwon district in next year's general election as a member of the People Power Party. Professor Lee stated, "If there is an opportunity to realize what I have been thinking about at the end of the work I have done, I think it can be seen as an extension of that work," explaining that she decided to run for office to engage in legislative activities.
This is not the first time Professor Lee has been active as a member of the People Power Party. She served as a member of the Special Committee on Sexual Violence Countermeasures of the United Future Party (the predecessor of the People Power Party) in 2020 and was a co-chair of the campaign committee for Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, in the last 20th presidential election.
However, when Professor Lee served as co-chair of the campaign committee, Representative Lee Jun-seok publicly expressed opposition. Some male supporters of the People Power Party even held protests against her recruitment. There was an assessment that Professor Lee’s actions, who had raised her voice for crimes against women and the protection of women and children's human rights, did not align with the People Power Party’s strategy during the presidential election to target the so-called Idaenam (men in their 20s). Professor Lee resigned from her position as co-chair when the campaign committee was reorganized.
Professor Lee Su-jeong, Department of Criminal Psychology, Kyonggi University. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@
About two years after resigning as co-chair, Professor Lee is now aiming to run for the Suwon district in next year’s general election as a member of the People Power Party. On the 5th, she explained her reason for running on CBS Radio, saying, "For 25 years, I have repeatedly witnessed firsthand how vulnerable the underprivileged are outside of office. I am not just a scholar locked away in a research lab; I have decided to fill those many gaps even now."
Regarding the political sphere’s attitude toward women’s issues, Professor Lee criticized, "There has been no improvement compared to the past," adding, "I think it remains exactly in the same line as when the term 'victim complainant' was coined for sexual violence victims."
Commenting on former Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Kang-wook’s remark that "the females are running wild," she said, "I still can’t believe such terms are socially used," and added, "I want to make sure such words never come out again for future generations. That’s why people like me are needed now."
Professor Lee emphasized, "There are comments saying 'When the hen crows, the country falls' about me, and both progressives and conservatives criticize me. But times have changed," adding, "Half of the voters are women, and their voices need to be represented. More importantly, legislative activities are definitely necessary even for the sake of children who are not yet voters."
Regarding criticism from opposition parties about her political moves, she said, "Perhaps it is because they care about me a lot and hope 'it would be better if you didn’t go into politics,'" and explained, "From my perspective, it’s disappointing. There is a saying, 'Love also moves,' and just because someone used an iPhone doesn’t mean they have to keep using only an iPhone. People change as they live."
She continued, "One of the biggest problems in Korean politics is pushing people as if 'if you choose one, you can’t do the other' and 'you belong to that side anyway,'" emphasizing, "How can politics be only two sides, left and right? Livelihood issues have neither left nor right."
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