Choi Min-hee says she's labeled 'anti-Lee' for not attacking Yu Si-min

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Choi Min-hee, who is running for a supreme council seat, said Friday that she has been branded "anti-Lee" simply for refusing to criticize writer Yu Si-min, adding that she considers him "a true intellectual."

Speaking on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus" that morning, Choi said she views Yu's commentary as a source of strategic guidance rather than a threat. "We should read his analysis, look at the trends, and if he warns of a certain risk, just take it as a warning and use it as a reference when we draw up our strategy," she said.

Choi pushed back against characterizations of Yu as a power broker. "People keep calling writer Yu a power figure, but if influence expands that far, anyone with even a little sway becomes power," she said. "The standard for power must be legally clear — administrative power, legislative power, judicial power. That is what constitutes power."

She also took aim at what she described as a deliberate effort to divide the party's base. "The term 'New Moon Jae-in' never emerged during former President Moon Jae-in's tenure," she said. "Deliberately coining the label 'New Lee Jae Myung' and driving a wedge between those supporters and old-guard Democratic Party backers — I see that as the work of certain politicians pushing their own agenda."

When asked which politicians she had in mind, Choi said it was "very difficult" to name names, but added, "I think it's people like Rep. Lee Eon-ju."

Choi said Rep. Lee had mounted a bid for the supreme council the moment she joined the party, winning a seat through what she called a flawed strategy by then-candidate Jeong Bong-ju. "I thought at the time that it was a very reckless move," she said.