Lee apologizes for his remarks on Ukrainian president

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, apologized on Saturday that the misunderstanding caused to the Ukrainian people unintended by him was due to the lack of his ability to express himself well. On the Friday TV debate, he said that the novice Ukrainian president with six months of experience in politics provoked Russia, which led to conflicts. Lee apologized a day later as heavy criticism followed both domestically and internationally.

“I would like to express my stance on the Ukrainian situation since I didn’t provide enough explanation due to time restriction,” said Lee on Facebook on Saturday. “If you take a look at the whole script of the TV debate on Friday, anybody can see that I clearly criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine right after I made the comment and that I commented on Yoon Seok-youl’s unstable diplomatic and security perspective, rather than belittling the Ukrainian president,” Lee emphasized. “I fully support the Ukrainian people and government’s stance and efforts. Russia’s invasion cannot be justified.”

It seems that Lee made a quick apology as the video of his comment was posted on popular foreign websites, including Reddit, and received negative replies.

The main opposition People Power Party criticized Lee for causing international embarrassment. “Lee’s thoughtless words to use the situation for the election, rather than consoling the country in an unfortunate situation, are bringing international rage,” said Yoon on Facebook on Saturday. “I apologize to the Ukrainian people hurt by his words on behalf of him as a presidential candidate of South Korea.”


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