Claiming the Vertical Bar '│' Resembles the Number '1'
Debate Over Political Bias in Suwon's Voting Banner
Soojung Lee, the People Power Party's Suwonjeong district committee chair in Gyeonggi Province, engaged in a heated debate with netizens after pointing out what she claimed was "political bias" in vote encouragement banners put up by local governments, arguing that a special character on the banner resembled the number '1'.
Sujeong Lee, Chairman of the Suwon Jeong District Party Committee, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Younghan Heo.
On the 26th, Lee posted a photo of a vote encouragement banner for the June 3 presidential election put up by Suwon City on her social media account, writing, "What's strange about the Suwon City banner below?" She added, "I never expected fairness in the first place, but this is just pathetic."
To encourage voting, Suwon City had written the phrase "If you don't vote, you'll skip your own future" on the banner. Lee took issue with a small section above the phrase where the voting schedule was written. She argued that a vertical bar symbol next to the words "21st Presidential Election" could remind people of the number 1, which is the candidate number for Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate. In a comment on her post, Lee wrote, "It's not 'Presidential Election Day,' it's 'Presidential Election 1.'"
Soojung Lee, head of the Suwonjeong district of Gyeonggi Province, claimed political bias regarding voting encouragement banners put up by local governments, sparking a heated debate with netizens. Chairman Lee's Facebook
However, netizens pointed out that the special character '│' (vertical bar) is typically used to separate content, not to represent numbers. One netizen commented, "What are you talking about? Did you really read 'Presidential Election│' as a 1? If you see that as a 1, you should see a doctor." Lee, however, reiterated her claim, responding, "Then does it look like a 2 to you?"
Recently, during the People Power Party's conflict over unifying its presidential candidate, Lee sparked controversy by mocking candidate Kim with a post saying, "Haha, what are you going to do, Moonsu?" After the court dismissed Kim's request for an injunction to recognize his status as a presidential candidate and prevent the holding of the National Committee and Party Congress, Lee wrote on social media, "Everything's been dismissed, haha, what are you going to do, Moonsu?"
Subsequently, the party leadership held a vote among party members to select former Prime Minister Han Ducksoo as the candidate instead of Kim, but the proposal was rejected due to opposition from party members. Lee then abruptly changed her stance, posting, "Thanks to the earnest wishes of our party members, we were able to find a way out of a situation where we almost couldn't field a presidential candidate due to the injunction ruling. I pay my respects."
Meanwhile, both of Lee's controversial posts have since been deleted.
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