Lee Jae-Myung, the candidate of the governing Democratic Party of Korea for president, is entangled in yet another controversy, this time on allegations of posthumous slander of two historic progressive presidents, both of whom died recently.

Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Dae-Jung, both past presidents of South Korea, appear in two movies published by the Democratic Party on Saturday on its official YouTube account. The films depicted the two presidents supporting Lee in the presidential election next month, despite the fact that they both died many years ago.

In the videos, voiceovers impersonating the two past presidents associated with the liberal coalition urged people to support Lee in the next election, citing his origins as a member of the working class as justification. Roh and Kim are frequently cited as the most emblematic personalities of South Korea's progressive political thought, and with good reason.

According to the voiceover in the video, "I, Roh Moo-hyun, express my support for the righteous candidate Lee who has triumphed in his fights against the privileged class in hopes to bring a better world for the people by overcoming poverty and challenges without compromising with injustices," Roh Moo-hyun said in the video, which was shown next to a file photo of him.

"My wife, Kwon Yang-sook, stated that she backed Lee as well because of their resemblance to me. I applaud her for making this decision. Even after giving it some thought, Lee Jae-Myung is still my top option. Lee Jae-Myung has been elected to the presidency of South Korea."

Kim was featured prominently in a video in which the audience was encouraged to support Lee because he is "a politician who turns words into acts" and because he is a candidate who represents "self-consciousness in action."

Following the release of the two films, many people expressed their displeasure, accusing the Democratic Party of defaming those who had died. Comments poured upon the ruling party's online community page, accusing the party of making use of the two significant people for political benefit, which was quickly shut down.

Many people were particularly outraged when they saw the films on the Democratic Party's official YouTube channel, and they requested that Lee and his campaign staff issue a formal apology to them.

A number of civic organizations have expressed concern that the films may be seen as defamation of the deceased. According to the Criminal Procedure Act, "any of the deceased's relatives or descendants may file a criminal complaint in respect of an offense defaming the deceased." In other words, "any of the deceased's relatives or descendants may file a criminal complaint in respect of an offense defaming the deceased."

The Democratic Party quickly removed the films from its YouTube page and told reporters in a statement that the party and its campaign staff were not engaged in the production of the videos. According to the statement, the film was created by a Lee fan in his or her personal capacity and then shared with the party.

In a statement, a press representative with Lee's presidential election campaign committee claimed that those in charge of the YouTube channel had received an official warning from Rep. Song Young-gil, the Democratic Party's chairman.

No formal apology was included in the message, and the campaign team did not indicate whether or not a public apology or speech in response to the videos was planned in the future.

The People's Power Party, the largest opposition party, has harshly condemned the recordings and called on the Democratic Party to develop preventative measures as a reaction. With regard to the two films in question, the party intends to submit a complaint with the National Election Commission, according to a statement.

A People Power Party chairman stated in a Facebook post on Sunday that "this type of campaign tactic — copying the voice of a previous president who died in a tragedy for political purposes" was "beyond conception" for his party's leadership.

A second Facebook post, uploaded an hour later, stated that the "(recent event) from the Democratic Party did not reflect any official viewpoint of the departed President Roh Moo-hyun" and had caused "severe unrest" among voters.

"We will file a complaint with the National Election Commission on this video from the side of candidate Lee Jae-Myung."

There was also controversy around the film, which featured Roh, because of a visual that may have contained a sign of the Ilbe Storehouse, a well-known conservative extremist community in South Korea. The community has been roundly criticized for its scathing portrayal of Roh as well as other liberal political figures.

"The Democratic Party should thoroughly examine whether or not there is a spy among its members," Park Min-young, a member of the People Power Party's presidential election campaign team, said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

"The fact that the party erased the recordings in response to our input might indicate that the party's ability to conduct internal audits has been utterly undermined. I'm just bringing this up because I'm really concerned."

On Monday, Lee's campaign did not reply to the claim that he had used the Ilbe emblem in his campaign.