Lee Invokes Even Chun's "Building a Just Society"... Criticizes "Hypocrisy" and "Double Standards" in Political Correctness

Multicultural Debate Continues... Criticism of Political Correctness Grows
"The Gap Between Words and Actions and Double Standards Fuel Public Backlash"
Points to Political Double Standards Beyond Policy Fairness

On Nov. 2, President Lee Jaemyung strongly criticized the hypocrisy and double standards of those who invoke political correctness (PC), even recalling former President Chun Doo-hwan's slogan, "Building a Just Society." The remarks are seen as a direct challenge to views in some parts of the progressive camp that characterize his concerns as discrimination and hate, amid an ongoing debate over whether to review preferential treatment for multicultural families.

President Lee Jaemyung speaks at the second plenary meeting of the National Life Safety Committee at the Blue House on Oct. 28, 2026. Yonhap News.

That day, President Lee posted on X (formerly Twitter) under the title "Building a Just Society, as Proclaimed by the Mastermind of a Coup and Mass Killings." He wrote, "The reason political correctness has run up against public backlash and fatigue today is not the values it aspires to, but the 'gap between words and actions' and 'double standards' inherent in the attitudes of those who champion it."

He continued, "They invoke noble values such as morality and justice, but in practice they apply double standards and are harsh only toward others." He added, "As they repeatedly show leniency toward the shortcomings and wrongdoing of themselves and their own camp while being harsh toward others or the opposing camp, people have come to see this not as genuine ethics, but as 'a means of flaunting moral superiority.'"

President Lee cited "Building a Just Society," the slogan used by the government during former President Chun Doo-hwan's rule, as an example of hypocrisy. "Hypocrisy and double standards undermine the credibility of any cause he champions," he said. "When Chun Doo-hwan, the most unjust of all, called for building a just society, the very words 'justice' and 'just society' became tainted."

He stressed, "To earn trust, one's outward appearance and inner self, as well as one's words and actions, must align; one must be consistent from beginning to end and hold oneself to a higher standard than others."

He also called on the political sphere to apply consistent moral standards. "As long as the attitude of demanding from others standards one cannot uphold oneself continues, criticism and cynicism toward political correctness will be hard to avoid," he said. He added, "This is especially true in politics, where the fate of the country and the lives of its people are at stake: we must be even more wary of political correctness being undermined. For politics to regain public trust, greater efforts are needed to align appearances with reality, rather than putting forward moral slogans unsupported by action."

The message appears to be a continuation of the debate over policies supporting multicultural families that has been ongoing since Oct. 28. At the time, President Lee shared a post from an online community about eligibility criteria for priority access to public postpartum care centers and questioned whether preferential treatment for multicultural families was appropriate. His point was that the policy should be reviewed to determine whether such families need special preferences beyond protection from disadvantage.

After some in the progressive camp criticized him, saying his remarks could fuel discrimination and hate toward minorities, President Lee continued to respond on social media in the days that followed. On Oct. 31, he argued, "While support for multicultural families is necessary, that does not justify specific policies within those support programs that are unreasonable or flawed and create reverse discrimination." He particularly stressed that public resentment toward political correctness, double standards, and factionalism should be taken into account.

The previous day, he reiterated his position that the principles of fact and fairness should take precedence over factional logic or ideological bias in a post titled "If It's Beans in Honam, It Should Be Beans in Yeongnam, Too." He also argued that correcting problems in policies supporting multicultural families does not amount to discrimination or exclusion.

Although the remarks did not directly name any particular individual or political faction, they are being interpreted, in light of the recent debate, as a message targeting some in the progressive camp who have criticized his policy concerns.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.