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Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, delivers a speech during a major campaign rally held in front of the main gate of Children's Grand Park in Gwangjin District, Seoul, on May 28. / Photo by Lee Byung-hwa

As New Reform Party presidential candidate Lee Jun-seok faces mounting criticism over his controversial comments about women’s bodies, it has come to light that the son of Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung was previously fined for posting obscene content online.

According to court records, the Suwon District Court issued a summary judgment on October 31 last year, fining Mr. Lee—Lee Jae-myung’s eldest son—5 million won for habitual gambling and violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (specifically, for displaying obscene content online). The penalty was finalized as Mr. Lee did not appeal the ruling.

Earlier, the conservative YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute (Gaseyeon) had filed a criminal complaint against him on December 16, 2021, citing habitual gambling and violations of laws regulating the gaming industry and sports promotion.

In January the following year, Gaseyeon filed an additional complaint after obtaining evidence that Mr. Lee had posted sexually explicit messages on an online forum, including content considered humiliating toward women and violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (Article 13 on obscene communication).

From October to December 2021, Mr. Lee reportedly posted sexually explicit remarks about several women, including Karina of the girl group aespa, and also shared alleged experiences of purchasing sex services.

Meanwhile, Lee Jun-seok came under fire for remarks made during a televised debate the previous day, in which he asked Kwon Young-guk of the Democratic Labor Party, “According to your standards, if someone says they want to stick chopsticks into a woman’s genitals, is that considered misogyny?” The statement was swiftly condemned as verbal violence across the political spectrum. Lee later issued an apology, saying, “I offer my sincere apologies.”