Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate, Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party presidential candidate, and Lee Jun-seok, the Reform Party presidential candidate, each identified a moment in their lives that they regret the most and found particularly difficult during an appearance on Hong Jin Kyung's YouTube broadcast.
The video featuring the three candidates was uploaded on the YouTube channel 'Study King, True Genius Hong Jin Kyung' on 28th. Candidate Lee Jae-myung spoke about conflicts with his family, while Candidate Kim Moon-soo recounted his experiences of torture during his activist days, and Candidate Lee Jun-seok shared his experience of leaving the People Power Party due to internal conflicts.
◇Lee Jae-myung 'Conflicts with my family'
Candidate Lee Jae-myung reflected on the moment he regrets the most, saying, "There are many things. Life is full of mistakes," adding, "The hardest of them was fighting with my family. Furthermore, it didn't end on a personal level, many people were hurt."
In response to Hong Jin Kyung's question about the most difficult moments, he said, "Childhood was the hardest. While working in a factory, I got an injury that bent my arm," adding, "The future seemed bleak, and factory life was incredibly painful."
◇Kim Moon-soo 'They tortured me with electric shocks and water torture asking where my colleagues were'
In response to the same question, Candidate Kim Moon-soo recounted his experiences of torture during the 'May 3 Incheon Democracy Uprising' in 1986. He said, "It was during the Fifth Republic. While having a meeting in an apartment in Jamsil, soldiers burst in. They tortured me with electric shocks and water torture asking where my colleagues were," adding, "They stripped me naked, tied me to a large chair, and applied electric shocks to my fingers. When my skin was peeling off, they poured water on me, and my whole body was bleeding."
He continued, "I got beaten so much that at one point, I thought I might just die and tried to kill myself. Even if I slammed my head against the ground to die, I couldn't die, even tying my helmet tightly and banging my head didn't work," adding, "In prison, I didn't even have the freedom to die."
The background of Candidate Kim's torture included Yu Si-min, the former director of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, with whom he worked at the time but who is now politically positioned elsewhere, and Shim Sang-jung, the former leader of the Justice Party.
The incident occurred on May 6, 1986, at a public apartment in Jamsil, which has since been rebuilt. At the time, candidate Kim was taken away as a leader of the Seoul Labor Movement Alliance (Seonoryeon), but fortunately, Shim, who was outside, was not caught. Candidate Kim Moon-soo was tortured at the Defense Security Command's facility (Songpa Security), and while Shim was interrogated about his whereabouts, he endured the torture and did not give up any information. When candidate Kim was being tortured, Yu Si-joo (former head of the Hope Institute), the brother of Yu Si-min, was in the adjacent room.
Candidate Kim and Yu Si-joo's families learned that they had been taken to the Songpa Security Command and rushed there. Among the family members protesting by shaking the iron gate, demanding the release of their family members, were candidate Kim's wife, Seol Nan-young (former union chairperson of Sejin Electronics), and Yu Si-joo's brother, Yu Si-min, the former director.
◇Lee Jun-seok 'I wandered for 2 years after being beaten by Yoon'
Candidate Lee Jun-seok cited his experience of leaving the People Power Party during his tenure as its leader as his most difficult moment. He said, "I was beaten by former President Yoon Seok-youl and wandered for 2 years. I was thriving and then was chased away," adding, "In our country's conservative camp, many are royalists who prioritize the king. When I saw those people, I felt, 'You shouldn't rebel.' It was after he became president that he tried to expel his loyal supporters."
Candidate Lee Jun-seok recalled the situation, saying it felt "like suddenly getting hit by a hit-and-run." He added, "I was the person who received the most news coverage in Korea and then wandered around the country," stating, "I played a lot of games and things like that."