Former Vice Chair Lee Byung-tae Claims President Lee Jae-jung Caused 'Paejae High School Incident'

Former Vice Chairman of the Regulatory Reform Commission Lee Byung-tae claimed on the 22nd via Facebook that President Lee Jae-jung was the instigator of the Pai Chai High School incident. Former Vice Chairman Lee pointed out that the origin of the controversy lay in President Lee’s past criticism of a Starbucks Korea marketing campaign, which he interpreted as mocking the pro-democracy movement.

Lee described this as a conflict born of the arrogance of a person in power posing as a judge of history, and revealed that he had conveyed to the Cheong Wa Dae Secretary for National Integration at the time that an apology from the President was necessary.

Former Vice Chairman Lee clarified that his remarks regarding the '5.18 taboo' were being used as a badge of partisan politics by forces seeking to monopolize the political symbolism of a specific incident. He stated he would continue to ask who is fundamentally responsible for the conflict between the Honam and non-Honam regions.