"'Moon Again'-style political rhetoric is not desirable"

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Eon-ju. [Provided by lawmaker's office]
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Eon-ju. [Provided by lawmaker's office]

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Eon-ju on Sunday criticized writer Yoo Si-min over his so-called "extension vs. reconstruction" argument, saying that "'Moon Again' — meaning a return to the Moon Jae-in era — style political rhetoric is not desirable."

Lee made the remarks on YTN Radio's "Jang Seong-cheol's News Myeongdang" that morning, saying she thought Yoo was being "far too overconfident."

Earlier, Yoo had appeared on broadcaster Kim Ou-joon's YouTube channel and said, "What the people who supported and cheered for President Lee wanted was an extension," adding, "But it seems the president was trying to do a reconstruction."

Lee said Yoo appeared to be applying the logic of a past era — the 1980s, 1990s or early 2000s, when he was at his most prominent — without a proper grasp of the Lee Jae Myung government's mission or the current political landscape.

She said she could not understand how Yoo could flatly assert that supporters wanted an "extension" just because that was his own position.

She said the remarks amounted to "camp logic and divisive thinking suited to a different era — words aimed at self-centeredly instilling a factional mindset in supporters while turning a blind eye to double standards," adding that supporters "had been hoping for a paradigm shift."

"That is precisely why they elected President Lee Jae Myung, who is neither from the activist movement nor of the mainstream," she said, adding that some supporters had wanted change going as far as reconstruction — or even full redevelopment.

She added that it was "not desirable for the country as a whole" for a senior figure to directly attack the president, call him "overconfident" and criticize the push to expand toward the moderate and conservative camp. "Just as with the People Power Party, 'Yoon Again' or 'Moon Again'-style political rhetoric is not desirable," she said.


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