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A capture from President Lee Jae-myung's X account.

President Lee Jae-myung criticized an past advertisement by Musinsa on May 20 that mocked the torture and death of pro-democracy activist Park Jong-chol, stating, "They say money is the devil, but how can anyone do this while wearing a human face?"

President Lee shared a photo of the advertisement uploaded by the clothing online retailer Musinsa in 2019 on his X (formerly Twitter) account on the same day and wrote the comment.

The advertisement in question contained the phrase, "It dries fast because we thumped the desk and it went 'ugh'."

"This advertisement insults and mocks the torture and death of martyr Park Jong-chol and the June Democratic Struggle triggered by it," President Lee wrote. "I received this via a tip-off, so I need to check if it is real. Please check it together, everyone."

He further pointed out, "I hope it is not true, but if it is, it is indeed a very serious problem."

However, the advertisement dates back seven years and caused a backlash at the time, prompting a boycott against Musinsa, which led the company to issue an official apology.

Regarding the matter, the presidential office stated, "This reflects the president's usual philosophy and determination to root out the continuous occurrence of insults, historical distortions, and trivialization directed at the democratization movement and its victims."

Previously, President Lee blasted Starbucks for holding a "Tank Day" event on the anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, lambasting it as "the inhumane, outrageous behavior of low-class merchants."