Seoul: President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday denounced an online commercial that insensitively referenced the torture death of a university student involved in democratization movements under a previous authoritarian regime. Lee shared his criticism on his X account, attaching an image of a 2019 online post by the fashion e-commerce platform Musinsa.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the commercial in question promoted quick-dry socks with a phrase suggesting they would dry with an "ugh" if the table was "banged." This was seen as a parody of the 1987 death of student activist Park Jong-chol, who was tortured to death by police investigators under the late former President Chun Doo-hwan. Initially, authorities attempted to cover up Park's death, claiming he died after uttering "ugh" when the table was "banged," which led to a nationwide uprising in June 1987 that eventually ended Chun's authoritarian rule.
President Lee mentioned that the advertisement was sent to him, stressing the need to verify its authenticity. "I wish it is not true (real), but if it is, it would be a serious problem," he wrote. He further questioned the morality behind such actions, stating, "How can one do this as a human being, even though they say money is the devil."
This incident follows a similar controversy involving Starbucks Korea, which faced backlash over a tumbler promotion event coinciding with the anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju pro-democracy movement in 1980. Lee had previously criticized this promotion on his X account, describing it as "inhumane behavior by lowly profiteers."