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Bestselling writer Lee Ji-sung gestures during his speech to the ruling People Power Party's workshop in Cheonan City, Thursday. Yonhap

By Lee Yeon-woo

An author of several best-selling books has come under fire for making sexist remarks in speech.

Lee Ji-sung drew the ire of female politicians of the People Power Party (PPP) for his inappropriate comments while presenting his own view of the image of the ruling party in a speech at a party workshop in Cheonan City, South Chungcheong Province, Thursday.

"People who talk to me about the PPP say it lacks two things: a youthful image and a womanly image. When I think of the PPP, the first image that pops into my mind is that of an old man. There's Bae Hyunjin and Na Kyungwon who are both beautiful and feminine, but there's something lacking. And with now with first lady Kim Keon-hee, it's still not quite there but if my wife (Cha Yu-ram) joins too they could be a perfect team of four beauties," Lee said.

Lee's wife is renowned billiard player, Cha Yu-ram, who joined the PPP in May.

Lee, who has publicly supported the conservative party, was invited the PPP's workshop to give a lecture on the topic of "A Party that Cannot be Replaced by Artificial Intelligence."

When Rep. Kwon Seong-dong asked why Lee encouraged his wife to join the PPP before the local election, the author answered it was because of the party's patriarchal image and he wanted to break the perception.

Most of the PPP members there burst into laughter and gave a round of applause at his response. But female politicians, who were mentioned against their will, showed their apparent displeasure.

Rep. Bae and former lawmaker Na demanded that Lee apologize for his inappropriate comments.

"How could you say to the first lady and elected officials that we had better form a gang of four beauties? What kind of person are you?" Rep. Bae asked. "It appears that you and your wife are a good match and you guys look great. But I am afraid that you would probably hear (from her) 'What a silly man he is' if you make a slip of the tongue as you did here just now."

Na joined in criticizing Lee's comments by saying, "He not only judges women by their appearance, but also by their image. He doesn't care about their capabilities. A man like him and the words he used would only do a disservice to our party and make it look like a cranky old man," she said.

Lee seemed not to take their remarks seriously and tried to defend himself saying, "What I meant is that there are three beautiful women in the PPP, but having the three is not sufficient enough to make the party look attractive. That's why I touted my wife as another beauty whose joining the PPP would make it look perfect. This is what I meant… Please remember I am a person who does whatever I want."

But his remarks backfired, triggering a backlash from internet users.

Lee eventually apologized for his careless comments, vowing he would be mindful of his word choice going forward.