South Korea's presidential election burned by coffee beans, chanel bags and room salon

Seoul, South Korea (AP) – South Korea's presidential election has been caught in personal assault and minor disputes, ousting meaningful policy debates in the martial law tragedy of former Conservative leader Yoon Suk Yeol.

In the last presidential debate Tuesday night, a painful mud escalation between liberal leader Lee Jae-Myung and conservative rival Kim Moon Soo, Lee Branding Kim “Avatar of Yoon Suk Yeol” and Kim denounced Lee as “Harbinger of Monster Polorics and Sotiphip”.

It's a word and controversy to watch the presidential race, as the two-day early voting begins two days before the June 3 election:

Plum roasted on coffee beans

Kim has been lagging behind Lee in polls, instead focusing on digging out his legal troubles and abandoning the outspoken Democratic candidate as dangerous, hard populists whose economic commitments are disconnected from reality.

For several days, Kim's camp caught Lee's profitability in making money during a May 16 campaign in Gunsan City seemed like a casual comment.

Lee touted his past policies in 2019 when he moved unlicensed food vendors from the province's popular mountain streams to clear and revitalize tourist areas.

Lee said he proposed helping suppliers transition to legal businesses and believed selling coffee would be more profitable than labor-intensive chicken porridge. Lee said he pointed out that a cup of coffee could sell 8,000 to 10,000 won (5.8 to 7.3 dollars), while the original cost of beans was only 120 won (9 cents).

The remarks quickly shocked the nerves in a small coffee shop that symbolized the struggle of self-employed figures in the declining work market.

King’s BJP accuses Lee of “driving nails into the hearts of small business owners” by portraying the coffee shop as wealthy and says he misunderstood the factors behind retail pricing.

Lee accused conservatives of distorting his comments, saying he was just explaining how he helped suppliers operate in a better environment.

King avoids Chanel bag scandal

Kim's avoidance of direct criticism of the Wong's martial law against him has been the main source of Lee's political offensive.

When Yoon appeared on May 21 to justify his martial law and made unfounded claims about how liberals benefit from election fraud, some PPP members lamented that he was actually running for Lee.

Kim, formerly the Lord Minister of Labor, just said he would do his best to eliminate suspicion of alleged election fraud.

Kim hasn't yet made any obvious reaction to the various scandals around Yoon's wife Kim Keon Hee.

Prosecutors in Seoul are investigating new charges that the former First Lady received a luxurious gift from Unified Church officials, including two Chanel bags, seeking commercial benefits after Yoon took office in 2022.

She has faced several other charges before, including receiving a Dior bag from a Korean-American pastor and participating in a stock price manipulation program.

During the presidential debate, Lee claimed that Yoon would return to Kim’s “shadow ruler” behind Kim Jong Il, and Kim bypassed Lee’s question about whether he would pardon Yoon.

“Room Salon” charge

“Room Salon” is a long-term symbol of South Korea's male-oriented nightlife culture. An expensive private karaoke bar where the hostess drinks and sings with male customers and pops up in a popular election.

Lee's party accused a judge of handling the rebellious trial of the Wong and visited a bar in Seoul, a wealthy southern region, last year with two unidentified people. It said his companions paid for the bill, and they were likely related to his work as a judge, representing a conflict of interest.

Judge Jee Kui-Youn has been at the center of bipartisan quarrel since he was allowed to release Yoon from prison in March, allowing him to stand trial without physical detention.

“We should strip him of the judge's robe,” said party spokesman Noh Jongmyun. “Isn't it ridiculous that he is the chief judge of the rebellious trial where the fate of North Korea's democracy lies?”

Jay denied the allegations, saying, like many ordinary people, he liked “samgyeopsal”, roasted pork belly and “Somak”, mixing beer with traditional Korean wine soju.

Conservative critics accused Democrats of trying to tame the judiciary as Lee faces five criminal trials on corruption and other charges.

The chaos of unification candidates

South Korea did not hold a second runoff election. Subsequently, when there is a clear leader, the remaining two competitors usually launch a unified campaign where one withdraws and supports another in exchange for a high-profile role in government.

Lee maintained the lead, and this year's game had similar moves among conservatives, but the extremely chaotic and undemocratic approach failed, hurting Kim Jong Il's campaign.

Trust Yoon’s former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has a better chance to beat Lee, with the PPP leader consisting primarily of Yoon Loyalists, followed by an emergency meeting to cancel Kim’s nomination and push for the candidate for independent Han. The next day, the party members' vote rejected the attempt.

King called the move a “an overnight political coup” and later worked to align with smaller Conservative candidate Lee Joon-Seok. Li has flatly rejected the overture.