Book discloses presidential candidate's bad blood with brother

Lawyer Jang Young-ha points to a printout showing packs of 50,000 won bills to support his client's claim that the money was allegedly handed over to then Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung in this October 20 file photo. Jang recently released a book, "Bye! Lee Jae-myung" which tells the story of the presidential candidate and his bad blood with his older brother who passed away in 2019, years after he was diagnosed with cancer. Korea Times file

Lawyer who was once close to Lee Jae-myung, releases book to discredit the DPK candidate

By Kang Hyun-kyung

"Bye! Lee Jae-myung," is a book written by Jang Young-ha, a former confidant of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) presidential candidate. The book, however, was penned after Jang became Lee's bitter enemy. Officially released on Christmas Eve of all possible dates, the politically-motivated book printed by the Jiwoo publishing house has emerged as a headache for the DPK, not to mention its presidential candidate.

A former judge, Jang was once close to Lee and worked for him when he ran for mayor of Seongnam City in 2010. Jang says that he first met Lee back in 1989 when he was a judge at a district court in Suwon. Lee was an attorney back then and the two apparently hit it off. Jang goes on to say that he happened to witness an erratic Lee on election day in 2010, which ended up changing his perception of him. The author says his suspicions about the presidential candidate have only escalated since then, which eventually led him to turn his back on Lee.

Lee and Jang are now pitted against each other and two of Jang's clients are locked in a legal battle against the DPK candidate: Jang has been representing actress Kim Bu-seon in a legal dispute with Lee, as well as an imprisoned criminal gang member named Park Cheol-min, who claims that he bribed the DPK candidate.

"Bye! Lee Jae-myung" is a collection of allegations surrounding the DPK presidential candidate, including his alleged connection with a Seongnam-based criminal gang, his bad blood with his late brother Jae-seon, who passed away in 2019, years after being diagnosed with late-stage cancer, and its detrimental impact on his ties with his brother's family.

In the book, Park In-bok, Lee's sister-in-law and the wife of his late brother, portrays the DPK candidate as a "demon," alleging he's partly responsible for the death of her husband. She goes on to say that she and her children have lived in agony and that their lives were torn apart after her husband's death. Calling Lee a liar with enough political clout to make or break other people's lives, Park says she thinks that a man like him doesn't deserve the top job of the government. Park said she also hopes that she and her children will get their good names back after the truth is revealed.

"Bye! Lee Jae-myung" written by lawyer Jang Young-ha

Within days of its release, "Bye! Lee Jae-myung" has become a political football.

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) praised the book, calling it a "must-read" for all voters to get to know more about the DPK presidential candidate.

Meanwhile, the DPK filed for an injunction to stop the sale of the book. The ruling party questioned the credibility of the author, saying that he was sued for having spread the baseless allegation that Lee has connections with the criminal underworld.

The court will rule on the DPK's request for an injunction on Jan. 12.

After the DPK commenced the legal proceedings, "Bye! Lee Jae-myung" instantly rose to the No. 1 best-seller spot on several online bookstores, including Kyobo Books' online mall.

Regarding his motive behind the publication, Jang says he was determined to work on the book about Lee to help voters make good decisions.

The ruling party tried to undercut the possible harmful effects on its candidate, alleging that Jang is a "defector" who is migrating from the ruling camp to the opposition parties to win a ticket to run in the local elections.

"Bye! Lee Jae-myung" is one of the books that were released ahead of the presidential election slated for March 9.

The pre-election publication rush has been a virtual fixture of Korea's political scene, as books are one of the most effective tools for politicians to reach out directly to voters to pitch their agendas and promote themselves as good presidential material.

Such politically-driven books are released anywhere from a year to just months before the respective elections.

Depending on the author, pre-election book releases aim either to promote themselves or their favorite candidates, or to discredit certain contenders.

In memoirs, candidates tell their sides of stories of their upbringings, choices they have made and share their lesser-known humanistic sides to appeal to the hearts and minds of voters. Some authors chronicle politicians' lives to endorse them as the next president or a parliamentarian. Books like these are obviously aiming to market the target politician.

Meanwhile, some write to deal a blow or hurt certain politicians by disclosing their dirty secrets or unknown dark past. Books like this could be lethal to the targeted politicians, particularly when the authors are those who know their targets very well. They were once close, but later on, for some reason, their relationships turned sour and they became adversaries.