Lee Jun-seok's Direct Response to 'Yoon is Dumb' Remark: "Don't Say He's Rude"

Criticized for 'Some Stupid Person' Remark
Lee Jun-seok: "Don't Judge Me as Rude"

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform New Party, continues to deliver strong criticism toward President Yoon Seok-yeol. Recently, regarding his remark "Some stupid person," which has drawn criticism, he retorted, "Do not judge me as 싸가지 (a rude or inconsiderate person)."

(From the left) Lee Jun-seok, Representative of the Reform New Party, President Yoon Seok-yeol.
Photo by Kim Hyun-min, Asia Economy, National Assembly Press Corps

On the 29th, appearing on YTN Radio's 'Shin Yul's News Face-off,' Lee stated, "I said 'Some stupid person' because the medical school expansion issue was handled poorly, so that expression was indeed referring to the president." On the 27th, during an English lecture titled 'An Irresistible Future' held at Seoul National University Gwanak Campus Graduate School of International Studies, he said, "An imminent threat to Korean science is that 'some stupid person' started increasing medical students," targeting President Yoon. Lee said, "Someone asked me, 'How can you call a person stupid when evaluating them?' Then don't judge me as 싸가지," emphasizing, "Evaluation should always be free."

On the same day, Lee also stated on Gwangju Broadcasting, "I think (President Yoon) acted very stupidly regarding the medical school expansion controversy and other matters," and questioned again, "Is it unacceptable to evaluate that 'the president is stupid'?"

Lee also criticized media reports confirming that President Yoon had phone calls with former Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop three times on August 2 last year at 12:07, 12:34, and 12:57, saying, "This is very careless regarding communication security," and added, "They should have used burner phones to prevent leaks, so I don't understand why they made such a choice. It is possible to point out that the president is generally very careless about communication security." He further stated, "Considering the timing and other factors, this could be evidence of significant external pressure," and added, "It is correct to see that the president had a different mindset than usual."

Meanwhile, regarding the government's repeated declaration of its determination to complete medical reform, Lee continues to defend the doctors. Last month, Lee held a private meeting with Park, the representative of resident doctors and acting committee chairman, and stated that the government should reconsider the medical school expansion from the beginning. After the meeting, Park posted on his social media, "Today, we had a private meeting at the National Assembly Members' Office Building with Reform New Party members Lee Jun-seok, Cheon Ha-ram, and Lee Ju-young."