Yang Moon-seok's "Roh Moo-hyun is a Defective Product"... Lee Jae-myung Says "Freedom of Expression"

"Swearing at the boss when no one is watching..."

Yang Moon-seok, a preliminary candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea in Gyeonggi Ansan Gap, referred to former President Roh Moo-hyun as a "defective product" in the past, and party leader Lee Jae-myung responded by saying it was "merely freedom of expression."

Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On the morning of the 16th, during an on-site press conference in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province, Lee stated, "Former President Roh would not have criticized or opposed politicians who criticized him, and I am the same," adding, "My mouth is already so tied up that I can hardly live, so let's try to be more tolerant of expressions." Lee also said, "Feel free to criticize me a lot. Even if you bite at me, I won't say anything. I hear that people even curse their bosses when they are not seen, but our society must not return to dictatorship."

Until now, Lee has consistently avoided questions related to candidate Yang. On the 15th, after visiting Suam Market in Nam-gu, Ulsan, when asked about reports that Yang had likened former President Roh to a "defective product" in a past column, Lee responded with a non sequitur, saying, "Hello everyone. Thank you for being with me for a long time. I ask the citizens of Ulsan not to forget and to act to stop the ruthless oppression of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration."

In 2008, while serving as Secretary-General of the Media Solidarity, Yang wrote in the internet news outlet 'Mediaus' under the title "The Original Sin of Importing Crazy American Beef is Roh Moo-hyun," stating, "Roh Moo-hyun, who pushed through the Korea-US FTA despite 60-70% of the people opposing it, is a defective product." He also criticized, "I cannot help but feel disgusted by Mr. Roh, who equates environmental movements with garbage cleanup by destroying the structural aspects of the environment and enjoys the elegance of a retired president," and pointed out, "The very act of saying 'old officials are good officials' about Mr. Roh blatantly reveals the level of Korean society."

After Yang's past remarks became known, former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, who serves as chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, demanded that "measures be taken." Through his remarks on this day, Lee appears to have effectively rejected the demand for action.

Yang is a prominent pro-Lee figure within the party. He referred to the anti-Lee faction as "watermelons (Democratic Party on the outside, People Power Party on the inside)" and said, "I will uproot the watermelons," which led to a three-month suspension from party duties. However, with the full support of hardline pro-Lee supporters, he defeated former members of the National Assembly in the primary election.