Description of Sexual Violence Against Women's Bodies During Presidential TV Debate
Petition for "Expulsion of Representative Lee Junseok" Emerges
Petitioner: "Verbal Sexual Violence in Front of All Sovereign Citizens"
Surpasses 500,000 Signatures... Second Only to Yoon's Impeachment Petition
The national petition demanding the expulsion of Lee Junseok, a member of the Reform New Party, from the National Assembly has surpassed 500,000 signatures in just six days. This comes after Lee sparked nationwide outrage with his inappropriate remarks about women's bodies during the third presidential candidate TV debate. Despite Lee's apology, public criticism has shown little sign of abating.
As of 6:50 p.m. on June 10, the petition titled "Petition for the Expulsion of Representative Lee Junseok from the National Assembly," posted on the National Assembly's public petition board, had received 512,750 signatures. This is the second-highest number of petition signatures in history, following last year's "Petition for the Immediate Submission of President Yoon Suk-yeol's Impeachment Bill," which set a record with over 1.43 million signatures. Some observers predict that, at this rate, the number of signatures could surpass one million by the petition's deadline.
Former Reform New Party presidential candidate Junseok Lee held an emergency press conference at the National Assembly on the 29th of last month to express his position regarding the controversy over his remarks about women's bodies during a TV debate.
This petition met the review requirement (more than 50,000 signatures within 30 days) in just one day. According to National Assembly regulations, any petition with over 50,000 signatures is automatically referred to the relevant standing committee. However, as of now, the committee responsible for reviewing this petition and the referral date have not yet been determined. Expulsion of a lawmaker requires the approval of at least two-thirds of all National Assembly members, as stipulated by Article 64 of the Constitution. However, there has never been a case where a lawmaker was actually expelled through a public petition, so it remains uncertain whether Lee's expulsion will become a reality.
Previously, on May 27, during the third TV debate for the 21st presidential election, Lee caused controversy by using violent language about women's bodies. Lee explained that he was merely quoting a comment allegedly written by the son of then-presidential candidate Lee Jaemyung on an online community, as part of the vetting process. However, he faced a barrage of criticism for "amplifying and reproducing misogyny." There were numerous calls for him to withdraw from the presidential race, but he remained in the race until the end and received 8.34% of the vote.
Regarding the reason for demanding Lee's expulsion from the National Assembly, the petitioner stated, "In full view of all sovereign citizens, he committed verbal sexual violence by describing violence against women's bodies in order to attack his opponent." The petitioner continued, "Lee's repeated acts of discrimination and incitement, his inappropriate and violent language during the presidential candidate debate, and his subsequent irresponsible attitude in justifying his actions have severely undermined the trust of sovereign citizens and damaged the dignity of the National Assembly." He further stated, "I petition for the expulsion of Representative Lee, who has undermined the dignity of the National Assembly by engaging in hateful and inflammatory politics."
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