GAPYEONG, South Korea (Reuters) - When the elderly leader of a South Korean religious sect knelt before the nation on Monday, he had hoped to defuse public anger over his church's role in spreading the coronavirus.
Yet Lee Man-hee's apology for the national"calamity" instead whipped up more outrage - due to a watch he was wearing.
Images of the watch quickly trended on Twitter, while"Lee Man-hee watch" was the most searched phrase on South Korea's biggest search portal Naver."His watch was shiny and crystal clear, like his loyalty and ties with Park Geun-hye," jibed another. "It has nothing to do with politics," the official told Reuters, noting that Lee, in his late 80s, was a veteran of the Korean War."He wears it because he doesn't have anything else."
The watch Lee wore did not appear an especially valuable one: similar models were being traded for 120,000-500,000 won secondhand online.
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