President Lee Jaemyung: Why He Wore the "Demon King" Shin Hae-chul's Stage Costume

Photographer Kang Youngho, Who Shot Lee's Presidential Campaign Poster
Reveals Photo on Social Media: "Taken in 2022 at My Request"

A photo of President Lee Jae-myung wearing a stage costume previously worn by Shin Hae-chul. Photo by Kang Youngho on social media.

A photo of President Lee Jaemyung wearing the stage costume of the late "Demon King" Shin Hae-chul has been released, drawing significant attention from online users.

On October 23, photographer Kang Youngho shared a photo of President Lee on his social media account under the title "Shin Hae-chul and Lee Jaemyung." The released photo shows President Lee standing in front of the camera, dressed in the stage costume that belonged to Shin Hae-chul.

With the 11th anniversary of Shin Hae-chul's passing approaching on October 27, Kang explained that, "After completing the presidential campaign poster shoot in 2022, then-candidate Lee Jaemyung accepted my personal request and wore one of Shin Hae-chul's stage costumes, which I had been keeping, for this photo." He added, "At the request of Shin Hae-chul's widow, Yoo Wonhee, I have been preserving his stage costumes, and under the theme 'Demon Kings,' I have been working on a photo book featuring people who shared dreams with Shin Hae-chul, dressing them in his costumes."

Kang recalled, "Even when I asked for a photo that might seem completely unnecessary for a politician, Lee Jaemyung willingly collaborated, more than just as a model. He seemed like someone who not only follows existing paths but also creates new ones. I was grateful then, and I am grateful now, to have gotten to know Lee Jaemyung and to have taken artistic photos together."

Kang also mentioned the time when he was working on the photo book "Now, Lee Jaemyung," saying, "If politics had genres, I would call his style 'art politics.'"

During his tenure as mayor of Seongnam, President Lee commemorated Shin Hae-chul and announced plans to create a street in Seongnam, where Shin's music studio was located. In 2018, "Shin Hae-chul Street" was established in Sunae-dong, Bundang-gu.

Kang stated, "Although Shin Hae-chul and Lee Jaemyung never met in person, I believe they were looking in the same direction. Like in Shin Hae-chul's song 'A Dream of a Freshwater Eel,' perhaps the two were people who dreamed the same dream." He added, "Recently, during the presidential inauguration ceremony, Shin Hae-chul's song 'To You' was played as well."

Park Jumin, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea who saw the post, commented, "My favorite song is 'A Dream of a Freshwater Eel.' I even used it as background music for a video summarizing my activities. The 'Demon King' Shin Hae-chul, who comforted and led my youth-I miss him. Mr. President, it suits you well."