“You criminal, go to jail!” “You guys eat radioactive ash and throw it away!”
At 10 p.m. on the 31st of last month, the National Assembly Building in Yeouido, Seoul. The first night of fasting for Lee Jae-myeong, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was chaos. There was a lot of shouting and swearing exchanged between so-called ‘dog’ YouTubers who support Representative Lee and extreme YouTubers who advocate for Representative Lee’s arrest. YouTubers of the theater company filmed the tent where CEO Lee was fasting and shouted, “Hey, Jaemyung Lee!” I was yelling. In response, the daughter-in-law YouTubers raised a human curtain and raised their cell phones and cameras as if to protect CEO Lee.
Representative Lee smiled and looked relaxed as he watched this scene. He also conducted his own YouTube live broadcast with his party leaders. Representative Lee said, “This (tent) looks peaceful, but in front of it, it’s chaos,” and added, “I’ll show you the National Assembly for a moment. “This is your chance to appear,” he said. Then, CEO Lee’s YouTube camera took a look around the scene and broadcast this mess. On the day when the ‘super blue moon’ appeared, a citizen who was taking a walk around the National Assembly grounds said, “I came to see the moon, but I am rushing home for fear of getting hurt by crazy people.”
The reason YouTubers flock to this representative singles venue is because of the number of views. One YouTuber broadcasted with the title ‘Lee Jae-myung’s fasting Kim Bu-seon goes!’ Although it was a ‘fishing broadcast’ based on a 2016 incident, the number of views exceeded 60,000. On YouTube, supporters poured in, saying things like “Please don’t hurt yourself” and “Let’s fast together.” A political official said, “It is a cross-section of Korean politics where low-quality YouTube and extreme politics come together.”
In the political world, criticism poured in on Representative Lee on the 1st, asking, “Are you going on a ‘bulletproof fast’ ahead of the vote on the arrest motion?” In particular, when pro-Democratic Party figures said, “There are no conditions for withdrawing the fast” (Jang Gyeong-tae and Park Seong-jun), reactions such as “there is no cause” and “an absurd fast” came out even within the party. In the past, hunger strikes by big politicians put forward specific conditions, such as the release of political prisoners, but it is pointed out that there are no such conditions this time.
On this day, Representative Lee held a high-level meeting under the fasting tent and said, “There is no other way to stop the regime’s regression and rampage other than fasting.” Former President Moon Jae-in called Representative Lee at 3 p.m. on this day and said메이저사이트, “I called because I was concerned about the situation in which the leader of the main opposition party is fasting because the Yoon Seok-yeol government’s reckless behavior is so severe,” and “I hope you take good care of your health.” Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Geon-young said he responded, “I will endure it well.” On this evening, a candlelight vigil was held at the National Assembly, where hundreds of Democratic Party lawmakers, party members, and supporters gathered. Some even held up banners defaming President Yoon Seok-yeol that read, “Impeach the pro-Japanese traitor Yongsan
Representative Lee also broadcast live on YouTube the scene of him criticizing President Yoon with Policy Committee Chairman Kim Min-seok from the tent until about 10 p.m. He referred to the president as ‘this person’ and said, “I don’t know what kind of confidence this person has. He made comments such as “Is it because he has never failed in his life?” or “If you don’t fail, you will become arrogant and not be afraid of the new prize.” One supporter even knelt in front of Representative Lee and sobbed.
On this day, Representative Lee engaged in a war of nerves with the prosecution over the summons schedule for the Ssangbangwool remittance scandal to North Korea. Representative Lee initially expressed his intention to appear on the 4th and be investigated only in the morning, but the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office issued a statement that day and said, “We cannot stop the investigation after two hours in the morning.” In response to the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office’s refusal to conduct a morning investigation, Representative Lee said he would be investigated between the 11th and 15th.