Lee Jun-seok, a Supreme Council member of the Barunmirae Party, speaks during a meeting with party members in the southwestern city of Jeonju, Monday. / Yonhap



In 'Fair Competition,' conservative politician criticizes feminists for spreading hatred



By Kang Hyun-kyung



Lee Jun-seok, a Supreme Council member of the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party, likened the radical feminist group Womad to a terrorist group, accusing them of fanning gender-based hatred and agitating women to fight against men.



"Womad activists don't detonate or throw bombs, but what they do is no different from terrorism," he claims in his newly-released book "Fair Competition: Asking Value and Future of Korea's Conservativism."



Womad, a compound word of "women" and "nomads," was launched in February 2017 as a splinter group from the online community Megalia. The group has since been controversial for using extreme means to fulfill their cause.



"Through their past deeds, Womad activists showed us what kind of toxic damage they could inflict on their male targets," Lee said in the book. "The activists destroy those men until they are unable to recover from the damage. I wonder how they are different from the terrorists who committed the Sept. 11 attacks which took the lives of some 3,000 people. Both Womad and terrorists are extremists and pose a threat to the society as they try to justify their ill-minded causes at the expense of others."



"Fair Competition" is an interview style book based on Lee's conversation with KBS drama writer Kang Hee-jin.



In each chapter, Lee presents his views about key national agendas, including gender, North Korea, the economy, and education, in response to the interviewer's questions.



"Fair Competition" was released a year in advance of the 2020 National Assembly elections.



Lee, 34, made his political debut in 2011 when he joined the conservative Saenuri Party's leadership council responsible for producing a set of reform measures. Then Chairwoman Park Geun-hye had handpicked him for the post.



Before he entered the political arena, he was an education startup entrepreneur who founded Edushare to help give underprivileged children access to quality education.



Lee unsuccessfully ran in the 2016 National Assembly election in Seoul's Nowon district to become a lawmaker on the conservative party's ticket.



The race drew national attention mainly because his rival was Ahn Cheol-soo. The Ahn-Lee competition in the National Assembly election was depicted in the media as a David vs. Goliath battle because Lee, who was then a young political novice, was challenging a national figure who later went on to run in the presidential election.



Following the defeat, Lee ran again in the 2018 by-election to live up to his commitment to become a lawmaker but he finished second in the race. With the publication of his book, Lee is poised to run in the parliamentary election next year.



Lee became public enemy number one to Womad last year for his open criticism of the feminist group. Some Womad activists encouraged women voters to vote against him in future elections.





"Fair Competition: Asking Value and Future of Korea's Conservativism" by Lee Jun-seok