Karina targeted in obscene comments by politician Lee Jae Myung’s son, fined 5 million KRW

It was belatedly revealed that the son of Lee Jae Myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, had repeatedly posted sexually explicit comments such as “I want to eat her” under photos of aespa's Karina in online communities, and was later fined 5 million KRW (~3,638 USD) for leaving obscene comments and habitual illegal gambling. The sentence was finalized via a summary order without a formal trial. As the case involved both public display of obscene material and illegal gambling, it has sparked growing controversy.

Lee Jae Myung’s son was found guilty of repeatedly posting lewd comments under women's photos in an online poker community and was fined. Using the nickname “LeaveItOverTheRiver”, he posted sexually degrading comments such as “I seriously just want to eat her once,” “She looks so damn tasty,” and “I want to hold her.”

The case came to light after being reported by the YouTube channel Garo Sero Research Institute (Hoverlab), prompting police to investigate him for violating the Information and Communications Network Act for displaying obscene content. The controversy escalated when it was discovered that he had also left sexually suggestive comments under photos of aespa member Karina.

The following January, Hoverlab filed an additional complaint against him under Article 13 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes for using communication media to commit obscene acts.

According to Hoverlab, from October 2021 for about two months, Lee, using the ID “LeaveItOverTheRiver” on PokerGosu, repeatedly posted sexually humiliating comments about various women.

On October 19, 2021, under a photo of DJ Soda, he commented, “Who is she, she’s insane,” “Please just let me touch her butt once,” and “She’s probably thinking she wants to be touched, right?” in succession.

On December 12 of the same year, after a photo of Karina was uploaded, he commented, “I seriously just want to eat her once.”

In other instances, he wrote “She looks so tasty” under a photo of a woman exercising taken from behind, and commented “Wow, that’s definitely for doing OOO” under a photo of a woman lying in bed.

He also left obscene remarks on pictures of female BJs and Japanese actresses such as “Ah, looks delicious,” “So damn tasty,” and “If I hold her and do OOO, it’d be f**n insane,” as well as “Pretty butt.”

The Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency’s Cyber Investigation Unit forwarded the case to prosecutors on October 26, 2022, citing habitual gambling and violations of the Information and Communications Network Act.

In addition to the obscene comments, Lee was found to have engaged in habitual gambling for about a year and a half starting in 2019, buying and selling poker money. Using the ID “IWantToWin,” he posted over 100 trade-related messages in community forums and was confirmed to have frequented illegal gambling dens in Seoul.

After a police investigation, the case was handed over to prosecutors in 2022. In 2023, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office issued a summary indictment against Lee for habitual gambling and violating the Information and Communications Network Act. On October 31 of last year, the 38th Criminal Division of the Suwon District Court fined him 5 million KRW. As Lee did not request a formal trial, the sentence was finalized.

Adding fuel to the controversy, it was reported that the summary order was received not by Lee himself, but by his mother, Kim Hye Kyung, further intensifying the public backlash. On online communities and social media, criticism erupted with comments such as, “Can a presidential candidate’s child behave like this?” and “Isn’t this a double standard just because he’s the child of a progressive figure?”