Lee Byung-tae, former vice chairman of the Regulatory Rationalization Committee [Newsis]
Lee Byung-tae, former vice chairman of the Regulatory Rationalization Committee [Newsis]

Lee Byung-tae, the former vice chairman of the Regulatory Rationalization Committee who resigned after the Lee Jae Myung administration pressured him over remarks questioning whether the May 18 Gwangju pro-democracy uprising had become a political "sacred ground" — comments that sparked the so-called Baejae High School controversy — has pushed back against what he called "fake news" circulating about the position.

Lee posted on his Facebook page Monday saying he felt compelled to set the record straight after a friend shared an online post making claims about the role.

The post alleged that the vice chairmanship came with an annual salary of 200 million won ($133,000), a government residence, a security detail, a chief of staff and other aides, and a chauffeured luxury sedan — and argued it was a waste of taxpayer money to keep someone who had disparaged the May 18 Gwangju pro-democracy uprising in such a position.

Lee said the vice chairmanship is not a public office but a civilian post, and that the holder is simply one of several non-standing committee members who convene when the committee is called to deliberate and vote on regulations set by the administration.

"Not a single one of the lavish perks and benefits listed actually exists," Lee said. "There is no office, no staff, no salary — only a meeting attendance allowance."

He added that while the president has no authority to unilaterally dismiss civilian members of the regulatory committee, he had his own reasons for accepting the recommendation to resign. "I saw once again the ugliest face of our society — a country with the most severe political conflict among advanced nations, a society that weaponizes history and trivial incidents to destroy the reputations of its opponents without hesitation, and a totalitarian tendency that drives young people's minor mistakes into Red Guard-style public trials and forces them to bow their heads in contrition before the entire nation," he said.


husn7@heraldcorp.com