President Lee Jae-myung used social media to urge voter turnout on Tuesday, the main voting day for the June 3 local elections. As his calls to vote sparked a political neutrality controversy, he countered that they were "remarks emphasizing the basic principles of democracy and electoral participation," adding that he had never expressed support for any specific candidate or camp.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Lee said, "South Korea's housing and real estate prices are already far too expensive." He pointed out, "Moreover, although the share of real estate in households' assets has declined, it remains far too high."
He continued, "This is one of the reasons the South Korean stock market remains undervalued," stressing that "South Korea must escape the real estate speculation republic, make a great transition to a startup nation, and develop into an irreplaceable core country."
Lee then called for "participation in voting," adding that "choosing competent and loyal servants is what makes South Korea a democratic republic that can truly be the pride of the world." The post, uploaded at 3 p.m. that afternoon, was his fourth social media message of the day since the morning.
Earlier, Lee said, "The phrase 'Let's elect competent and loyal workers. Let's be sure to vote. The result of giving up on politics is being ruled by the lowest sort of human beings' cannot be an election campaign that benefits any particular candidate or camp." He added, "It is the same as how advice to live a good life and not associate with bad children cannot be divisive or a smear against someone."
"Unless one considers oneself a bad person, there is no reason to be angry at these words, which are like Confucius's teachings on democracy," he said, dismissing the opposition's claims of "election interference." "Even a thief, while inwardly angered by the statement that stealing is wrong, does not show that anger outwardly."
