Yoo Si-min's Criticism of Lee Jae-myung Sparks Fierce Backlash within Democratic Party

Prominent commentator Yoo Si-min has drawn sharp criticism from within the Democratic Party for his recent remarks targeting Lee Jae-myung, a key figure in the party. Yoo suggested that Lee is the leader of the 'New Lee Jae-myung' movement and predicted his inevitable failure, likening the situation to a "rotten smell from a fish stall."

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The leader of the so-called 'New Lee Jae-myung' faction is likely Lee Jae-myung himself. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. All fish stalls will emit a rotten smell if left unattended.

His comments, made on the YouTube channel 'Kim Eo-jun's Dabidha,' have sparked a strong backlash. Kim Min-seok, a candidate for the party's leadership in the upcoming August 17th convention, criticized Yoo on Facebook, stating that Yoo's predictions have been wrong before and will be again. Kim emphasized that words like 'certain failure' and 'rotten smell' have no place in discussions among comrades.

Song Young-gil, another candidate for party leader, expressed disappointment on Hankyoreh TV, questioning why Yoo is harshly criticizing the Lee Jae-myung administration. Im Mi-ae, running for Supreme Council member, suggested on SBS radio that Yoo's timing was deliberate, aiming to rally a specific support base and encourage voter turnout for the convention. She characterized Yoo's intervention as an attempt to influence the party's internal elections.

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Groundless predictions like this will fail again. There are no words like 'certain failure' or 'rotten smell' in the language of comrades.

Veteran lawmaker Park Ji-won also weighed in on MBC radio, likening Yoo's repeated criticisms to a "broken record player," advising him that "too much is too much" and that he needs to exercise self-restraint. Meanwhile, Jung Cheong-rae, also a candidate for party leader, adopted a more reserved stance, stating in an SBS interview that he would "make no comment," suggesting that silence might be more appropriate at times.

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Yoo Si-min is different each time. I feel regret that he harshly attacks the Lee Jae-myung government.

Yoo Si-min, in a separate YouTube appearance, elaborated on his assessment, suggesting that Lee Jae-myung himself is likely the head of the 'New Lee Jae-myung' faction. He invoked the principle that "absolute power corrupts absolutely," adding that "all fish stalls will eventually emit a rotten smell if left unattended." He cited the prosecution reform process as an example, arguing that the actions of the so-called 'pro-Lee' faction were not mere 'mayhem' but rather planned by the president and other, less visible, aides. Yoo has consistently criticized Lee's efforts to broaden his appeal, employing theories such as the 'ABC theory,' 'reconstruction theory,' and 'certain failure theory.'

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Wasn't he trying to perfectly time this to rally a specific group of supporters and urge them to vote?