Lee Jae-myung, the candidate of the largest opposition party in South Korea, the Democratic Party of Korea, running for president, responded to a question about whether he would aid Taiwan if China attacks by saying: “I’ll think about it when aliens are about to invade Earth.”
In an interview published on the 29th on the website of the U.S. magazine Time, Lee made the above response.
South Korea will hold its presidential election on June 3.
The Time report stated that Lee Jae-myung has been known for his friendly stance toward mainland China, but in this campaign, in an effort to win over middle voters, he has downplayed pro-China remarks. In the interview, he even praised the U.S. troops stationed in South Korea as playing a “very important key role in the U.S. policy to contain China.”
In March last year, Lee criticized the then Yoon Seok-youl government's policy towards China, questioning “why provoke China,” and publicly stated that whatever happens in the Taiwan Strait is irrelevant to South Korea, and South Korea should not get involved, “We just need to develop ourselves well, and say thank you to both China and Taiwan.”
This “thank you theory” at the time triggered attacks from the ruling “People Power Party,” accusing the Democratic Party of Korea of yielding to China, and during the presidential debate on the 18th of this month, was again besieged by the People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo and the “New Reform Party” candidate Lee Seok-jun, criticizing him for being overly pro-China.