Broadcaster Lee Hyuk-jae opened up about his true feelings after serving as a judge in the People Power Party regional assembly proportional youth open audition final amid public criticism.
In a phone call with OSEN on the 27th, Lee Hyuk-jae said regarding his attendance as a judge at the People Power Party regional assembly proportional youth open audition final, "I was contacted by the People Power Party youth political bureau. The secretary-general asked me to serve as a judge for the youth open audition. I am also a party member, and my political leaning is to the right, but I did think, do I really need to be a judge? When I asked why, they said since this is styled as an audition program, they wanted to invite judges who are experts in each field. They said there aren't many broadcasters who openly show support for the People Power Party, so the offer came to me."
Earlier, some criticized Lee Hyuk-jae's decision to serve as a judge in the People Power Party regional assembly proportional youth open audition final based on his past record. Although People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok had stated a principle of disqualifying candidates with criminal records, Lee Hyuk-jae has a history of controversy for assaulting a room salon worker in 2010, was involved in legal disputes including unpaid debts and fraud, and last year was listed as a major tax delinquent for failing to pay more than 200 million won in taxes.
Lee Hyuk-jae said, "How can only successful people live life? People fail and overcome; that's life. The People Power Party asked me to come and share that kind of experience." He added, "I also distinctly thought, 'If I appear, my past will be a stain, and personally I don't care, but might it cause trouble for the audition?' As expected, the controversy grew. I even expressed my refusal, but during internal leadership meetings including the party leader they said, 'How can we evaluate only by the standards of successful people? People fail too. By that logic, wouldn't this person be the most experienced living example? Let's just go,' and that's how I decided."
Especially regarding the criticism, Lee Hyuk-jae said, "This is not something that happened yesterday; if they call me a celebrity who caused controversy over something from 10 years ago, I'm not even on the air now — I declared I wouldn't appear on broadcasts and live as a private citizen — so why are they so eager to destroy me?" he said, opening up about his true feelings.
After participating as a judge, Lee Hyuk-jae said, "All my remarks were sincere. How dare I judge someone's life and challenge? So I approached it with a humbler attitude, thinking maybe as a broadcasting expert these people were nervous and wanted to speak more but couldn't, or that if I mentioned something it might help; I prepared those points for days." He added, "The response was very good, and I felt very rewarded. Since I was going anyway, I thought I should show ability, and fortunately the real-time response was so good that in the morning the People Power Party youth division said it exceeded expectations. That made it worthwhile for me."
Meanwhile, Lee Hyuk-jae debuted in 1990 as a comedian through MBC's open recruitment. He appeared in variety shows such as Ilbam, Yashim Manman, Sponge, and Happy Sunday, and in dramas such as The Rustic Age and Run, My Mother.
[OSEN]