Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate, expressed regret on the 2nd after entering politics, saying, "I feel very sorry for my wife and family." Lee has two sons with Mrs. Kim Hye-kyung.
Lee appeared on YouTube's "Kim Eo-jun's News Factory" that morning, stating, "My sons are unable to find jobs. Whenever they do land a job, the media pursues false reports," he revealed.
He said, "Not long ago, my son went to the countryside to work at a tutoring center because it was difficult to make a living. The media followed and reported that he was employed illegally," he added, noting that if there was any illegal activity, the owner of the tutoring center would be responsible, not a part-time worker. "He was fired even from there."
He continued, "I suffered at the hands of the prosecution regardless of the regime," and added, "Even during the Moon Jae-in administration, I was indicted on four cases."
Lee remarked, "I can endure the struggles with the prosecution because choosing politics was my decision. However, my innocent children, especially my wife, followed me without any support because she trusted me." He trailed off, saying, "But insulting and causing pain to my family…"
He added, "Even local gangsters don't target their families," noting that the prosecution typically investigates only one sibling if a family issue arises. However, in the case of former Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk, the family was entirely devastated."
Lee also mentioned, "Our children were thoroughly investigated, scrutinized like dust was being cleared," and said, "It's truly painful."
Additionally, Lee stated, "There are many who suffered by being alongside Lee Jae-myung," and said, "Some pretended to be close to me and suffered. That's SSANGBANGWOOL."
He claimed, "There is no connection (with SSANGBANGWOOL). However, they seemingly pretended to have a connection," and added that the prosecution targeted it out of place, saying, "'This is it,' and ended up getting it all wrong."
Lee was indicted without detention on June 12 last year, alongside Lee Hwa-young, the former deputy governor of Gyeonggi Province, for allegedly having the province cover $5 million for a smart farm project and $3 million for a visit to North Korea by then Governor Lee between January 2019 and January 2020 to former SSANGBANGWOOL Group Chairman Kim Sung-tae. The trial is ongoing.