Author Yu Si-min. [Yonhap]
Author Yu Si-min. [Yonhap]

Author Yu Si-min, who has recently leveled sharp criticism at the Lee Jae Myung administration, reportedly remarked in private, "Why would I dislike Lee Jae Myung?"

YouTuber Lee Ha-neul said during a live broadcast on his channel Thursday that he had recently taken a fishing trip to Jeju Island with Yu and shared details of their conversation.

Lee said he had asked Yu directly about the perception held in some quarters that the author leans "anti-Lee." "People were labeling him with the 'anti-Lee' frame and attacking him, so I personally asked whether he really disliked Lee Jae Myung," Lee said.

Yu replied, "No — why would I dislike Lee Jae Myung?" Lee said.

Yu did not appear in the broadcast himself.

Lee explained that he had deliberately refrained from going live while the two were together. Photos taken at the airport had been circulating widely online and drawing all kinds of commentary. "I was worried it might make Yu uncomfortable," he said, adding that Yu had already returned to Seoul before the broadcast.

Lee had first revealed the encounter Monday, when he streamed footage of himself meeting Yu at Gimpo Airport on his YouTube channel.

The two were heading to Jeju for a fishing trip, and Lee addressed Yu warmly as "hyungnim," a Korean term of respect for an older male.

Yu has been a vocal critic of President Lee in recent months. On July 15, during a YouTube broadcast of "Maebulshow," he said of the president's political choices, "I believe it will end in failure," adding, "He is on a path of inevitable failure."

On July 21, on the YouTube program "2-Minute News," Yu said, "Absolute power corrupts 100 percent of the time," comparing unchecked authority to a fishmonger's stall: "Even the finest fish market will smell of the sea, and any stall left without limits will end up reeking of rot."

Yu had largely stayed out of the public eye throughout the Democratic Party of Korea's national convention before his recent whereabouts came to light.


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