On the 28th, Lee Jun-seok, the presidential candidate for the Reform New Party, explained on Facebook that he had used a “refined version” of a controversial remark regarding “female body parts” during the last TV debate. He mentioned that he had asked two other candidates, known for their strong stances on gender discrimination and hate issues, to comment on an unbelievable remark he found on the Internet. Despite refining the original expression for a public broadcast, the candidates avoided evaluating the issue.
During the debate, Lee Jun-seok asked Kwon Young-guk, the candidate from the Democratic Labor Party, if someone saying they wanted to insert chopsticks into a woman’s genitalia would constitute misogyny according to his party’s standards. This was intended to address allegations that Lee Jae-myung’s son had made sexual remarks online.
Kwon Young-guk refused to respond, questioning the purpose of Lee’s inquiry. Lee Jun-seok then challenged whether the Democratic Labor Party had standards for such sexually violent remarks.
Criticism arose from the progressive camp, including the Democratic and Democratic Labor parties, arguing that quoting such expressions without filtering in a televised debate was problematic. Lee Jun-seok countered that the real issue was not his expression’s severity but the refusal of Lee Jae-myung and Kwon Young-guk to assess the “sexual remarks.”
He emphasized the importance for leaders to confront distorted sexual ideas decisively, regardless of position or relationships, to reassure the public. Lee criticized the perceived hypocrisy of the progressive camp for frequently using terms like hate or division but remaining silent about issues within their own ranks.
He also referenced the past controversy involving former Mayor Hong Joon-pyo’s autobiography, suggesting that true leadership involves openly acknowledging and apologizing for inappropriate expressions, as Hong did during the 2017 presidential election regarding the pig aphrodisiac remark.