0
Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, greets voters during a visit to Dokcheon Nakji Street in Hak-san-myeon, Yeongam County, South Jeolla Province, on April 11 as part of his “Listening Tour” across the Namdo Culture Belt. / Source: Yonhap News

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, sharply criticized the People Power Party (PPP) on April 11 after Kim Moon-soo was confirmed as its official candidate, saying, “The PPP must first apologize for siding with acts that destroyed constitutional order.”

Speaking to reporters after completing his listening tour in South Jeolla Province, Lee said, “Replacing a candidate in such an absurd manner makes no sense,” but added, “It’s still a relief that a candidate was finally selected.”

He continued, “Can the PPP, a party complicit in insurrection, and a candidate who defends it, really ask for the people’s vote?” He went on to say, “What they must do first is for the PPP and its No. 1 member, former President Yoon Suk-yeol, to kneel before the public and repent for their acts of rebellion against the people.”

Lee wrapped up his 11-day journey across 51 regions, traveling from Pocheon in Gyeonggi Province to Haenam at the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula. “Listening means leaning your body toward the other to truly hear them. Genuine listening is not about asserting your own words, but respecting the words of others,” he said. “Politics has long forced politicians’ voices upon the people. This tour was about truly hearing the people.”

He added, “What pained me the most was witnessing firsthand the suffering of people’s livelihoods. Reviving the local economy and rebuilding broken lives must be our top priority,” and concluded, “Official campaigning begins on the 12th. I will embark on this journey with the people, to build a renewed Republic of Korea. I will give my all to help Korea rise again.”