Lee Jae-myung, a leading democratic presidential candidate, has addressed the controversy surrounding allegations that he sexually objectified women and described sexual violence on an internet poker community site.

Candidate’s Response

Speaking to reporters in Wonju, Gangwon province, on the afternoon of the 30th, Lee Jae-myung addressed the issue directly.

Lee stated that while he believes those who exaggerate and distort comments should be held accountable, he would not apologize for the core issue. He argued that the manipulation of comments to portray them as sexually explicit, specifically targeting women, was intended to incite shame and fuel hate speech during a national debate.

I think that sufficient judicial sanctions will be followed by the fact that they have been made of facts. I don’t apologize for that.

Context of the Controversy

The “false facts” Lee Jae-myung referred to appear to be the provocative expressions cited by Lee Jun-seok regarding “Lee Jae-myung’s son’s suspicion” during a recent debate.

During the third presidential candidate TV debate on the night of the 27th, Lee Jun-seok described violent acts against women’s body parts and questioned Kwon, the Democratic Labor Party candidate, about weather the comments constituted hate speech against women.

Wider Debate

The incident has sparked debate within political and civil society circles, focusing on two key points:

• Whether Lee Jun-seok’s remarks constituted linguistic violence by reproducing sexual violence with political intentions.
• The accuracy of the content of the comments cited by Lee Jun-seok.