Democratic Labor Party Responds with Fact Check
Mentioned Only as "Conspiring in a Sexual Violence Crime"
The Democratic Labor Party asserted that former presidential candidate Sim Sangjung did not mention the term "pig aphrodisiac" during the 2017 presidential election.
On May 28, the Democratic Labor Party released a statement in the form of a "fact check," saying, "The Reform New Party is claiming that Sim Sangjung also referred to former Mayor Hong Junpyo's 'pig aphrodisiac' remarks during the 2017 debate. However, this is not true."
The party explained, "During her opening statement in the debate, candidate Sim said, 'I cannot recognize a candidate who conspired in a sexual violence crime as a legitimate rival. I will not debate with candidate Hong Junpyo.' She did not directly mention the controversial term, but instead referred to it in a refined manner as 'conspiring in a sexual violence crime.'"
Former lawmaker Sim Sangjung is speaking at the 2017 presidential debate. Provided by the Democratic Labor Party
Earlier on the same day, candidate Lee stated on social media that "there was also controversy regarding the expression 'pig aphrodisiac' during the 2017 presidential election, but candidate Hong Junpyo acknowledged the inappropriateness of the expression in his autobiography and officially explained and apologized for it."
The Democratic Labor Party maintains that the case of former candidate Sim, who avoided direct reference, is different from that of candidate Lee.
Additionally, the Democratic Labor Party argued that candidate Lee distorted facts during the debate. A party official stated, "This was raised on the YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute, but the identity of the commenter has not been revealed and there are only speculations." The official continued, "Despite this, candidate Lee brought up the issue during the televised debate." The official further explained, "If you look at the original comment, it does not refer to a female body part. It is talking about a male body part. By mixing entirely different comments, it was distorted into a misogynistic remark."
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