The cover of the full audio recording of the so-called "sister-in-law profanity" phone call, released in 2021 by the "Awakened Citizens' Solidarity Party," a pro-Moon Jae-in group. [Source: Awakened Citizens' Solidarity Party YouTube] 

A middle school in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, recently attempted to stock Lee Jae-myung’s autobiography and a book portraying him as a great figure as "recommended reading." To the planners of this absurd farce born of blind hero-worship, I want to ask one question first: How thick is the callus on your conscience?

Why did you intend to place the life story of a figure whose actions cause fatal harm even to adults with sound judgment into a school library for teenagers whose values have yet to be formed? The trajectory of Lee Jae-myung that they sought to have children read is less like a human resume and more like a comprehensive "notebook of wrong answers" filled with crime and expedients.

Even his basic family ethics are failing. He attempted to forcibly commit his own brother, whom he disliked, to a mental hospital, and unleashed shameful, immoral profanity upon his sister-in-law.

Though he boasted about raising his son upright, the son became mired in allegations of illegal gambling and frequenting sex establishments. When the scandalous controversy erupted, Lee callously distanced himself, claiming, "A grown adult son is a stranger to me." This duplicity and cold-heartedness—casting aside his own blood as if they were mere baggage whenever it becomes politically inconvenient—is as bizarre as a sorrowful comedy.

His sense of responsibility as a public official is even more disastrous. While he habitually posed as a competent administrator who took care of every detail, down to the street pavers, he feigned ignorance when problems arose regarding projects involving hundreds of billions of won, despite being the "final approver" on the documents.

His cold-bloodedness in scapegoating subordinates and framing their actions as mere "deviance"—even as those who served him with loyalty are driven to the brink—is chillingly reminiscent of a psychopath.

His sense of economy and respect for the law straddle the line of criminality. During the presidential campaign, he chuckled while recounting a criminal act as an anecdote: "I bought a stock recommended by a friend, and it turned out to be a manipulated 'pump-and-dump' stock; it plummeted right after I sold it at the peak."

From testimonies of using public servants as private slaves to wash his underwear, to controversies over proxy-prescribed medications, to his record as a four-time offender for crimes including drunk driving that threatened others' lives and impersonating a prosecutor—was it truly their intention to teach children that the predatory logic of surviving at any cost is "competence"?

The reason this "notebook of wrong answers" is truly terrifying is that it does not remain in the past, but constantly evolves into a form that threatens the entire national economic system.

The book in question (right) and a childhood photo of Lee Jae-myung.  

The "seller loan" practice, spreading like a toxic fungus in the real estate market lately, is the very embodiment of this evolved harm. This bizarre loophole, where the seller transfers ownership before receiving the full price and takes a mortgage on the remaining balance, mocks and neutralizes the Debt Service Ratio (DSR) regulations put in place by the state to prevent an explosion of household debt.

If housing prices fall or the buyer fails to pay the balance, a chain reaction of insolvency occurs, where even the proceeds from a court auction cannot cover the debts because the primary bank loan and the seller's subordinate mortgage become hopelessly entangled. It is a massive game of "passing the bomb" that disrupts not just individual transactions, but the financial sector and the entire market order.

Who is responsible for elevating this dangerous gamble—which shocks even experts—into a "hip" trend in the capital market? It is none other than Lee Jae-myung himself, who raked in a 2.5 billion won profit by leveraging his own Bundang apartment for a 1.7 billion won mortgage.

The man who preached to ordinary people not to go into debt to buy a home was, behind the scenes, mocking national real estate regulations through the most sophisticated private leverage, distributing a tutorial on clever manipulation to the market.

In this fallen republic, where the life story of a man who spreads a manual of greed while wearing the mask of a leader nearly became recommended reading in schools, we must engage in deep contemplation.

On ruins where expedients are treated as ability and shamelessness is held up as a model, how will we prove the value of honest sweat to the next generation? The future of a nation whose moral compass is shattered while only its tricks evolve can never be whole.

◆ Park Joo-hyun, Writer

Composer, music director, columnist, and essayist. An active voice on political, current, and social issues on Facebook, garnering widespread resonance. Author of the essay collection *Crossing the Stormy Sea*.