Democratic Party Rushing General Election Amid 'Lee Hae-chan Risk' Faces Stumbles... Controversies Over Pledges and Talent

Lee Hae-chan "Congenital disabled people have weak will" sparks controversy over derogatory remarks
First general election pledge 'Free public Wi-Fi' criticized as populist
Kim Jong-in and others say "Can't feel the difference between Democratic Party and Korean Party"

Lee Hae-chan, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is holding a New Year's press conference at the National Assembly on the 16th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] The Democratic Party of Korea's preparations for the general election are stumbling right from the start.

On the 16th, according to the National Assembly and the telecommunications industry, the Democratic Party's first election pledge, "Free Public Wi-Fi," sparked controversy over being a populist promise immediately after its announcement. The Democratic Party stated, "We will make it tangible for the people," planning to establish about 53,000 free public Wi-Fi spots by the previous day and invest 578 billion KRW in the budget from 2020 to 2022. The facility costs are to be shared equally between the government and companies as a priority.

Inside and outside the political sphere, doubts about the actual effectiveness have been raised. A political insider said, "Telecommunication fees and electricity bills are not easy to manage or implement, so this is a pledge that repeats every election season."

A telecommunications industry official explained, "Currently, public Wi-Fi installed in places like subways offers 1 gigabit per second (Gbps), but as users increase, speeds drop to 3-4 Mbps, causing many user complaints," adding, "To build public Wi-Fi at LTE or 5G levels that users can actually use, more investment in facilities is inevitable." The official also expressed concern, saying, "This would also be a considerable burden in terms of securing funding."

Another official said, "Since public Wi-Fi is vulnerable to security issues, many consumers deliberately avoid using it, so it is more suitable for public facility infrastructure rather than personal use," and added, "Linking it to reducing household expenses is an overreach."

On the same day, Democratic Party leader Lee Hae-chan was again embroiled in controversy over remarks perceived as disparaging to people with disabilities. In the party's YouTube channel 'Sseum' released that afternoon, Lee commented on Professor Choi Hye-young, recently recruited as a candidate for the general election, saying, "People with congenital disabilities have had disabilities since childhood, so their willpower is somewhat weak," and "But those who became disabled due to accidents have dreams related to living a normal life as they did before."

Following the controversy, the Democratic Party deleted the video. Lee issued an apology message, stating, "I quoted a psychologist," and "The quote itself was inappropriate and could have hurt many people with disabilities. I sincerely apologize."

Within the Democratic Party, there is a sense that the 'party leader risk' has erupted again. In December 2018, at the Democratic Party's National Disability Committee inauguration ceremony, Lee was criticized for saying, "When you listen to what the political sphere (Liberty Korea Party) says, there seem to be so many mentally disabled people that you wonder if they are normal." On the 9th, at a press conference for the admission of lawyer Hong Jeong-min, a woman with a career break, Lee sparked controversy by saying, "My daughter also had a career break period but did not work hard," which was seen as disparaging to women with career breaks. Last year, he continued to face criticism for misogynistic remarks, including telling Na Kyung-won, the floor leader of the Liberty Korea Party, "Go home and do something else."

Figures introduced as candidates by the Democratic Party have also been embroiled in controversies day after day. Oh Young-hwan, selected as the '5th recruited talent,' caused a stir at his admission press conference by saying about the 'Cho Kuk incident,' which was a cause of the Democratic Party's sharp drop in approval ratings last year, "It was a practice that parents conventionally did, but it was excessively exaggerated in the media." Controversy also arose regarding Lee So-young, the '8th recruited talent' announced as an environmental specialist lawyer by the Democratic Party. The Korean Bar Association stated, "She is not registered as a specialist lawyer." According to current Bar Association regulations, lawyers who are not registered as specialists face disciplinary action if they use the term 'specialist.'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Criticism from 'former Democratic Party members' continues in response to the Democratic Party's actions. Former emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in said, "I don't feel much difference between the Democratic Party and the Liberty Korea Party," and criticized, "After making a party that only fought internally into the ruling party, people's minds changed. It's the same as the former Saenuri Party." Kim Hyun-chul, a professor at Dongguk University, the late President Kim Young-sam's second son and former co-chairman of Moon Jae-in's campaign committee, harshly criticized Moon's New Year's press conference, saying, "The person called president is insulting the people by treating them like dogs and pigs at a so-called press conference."

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party continues to pledge victory in the general election. At the return ceremony of former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon to the party held at the National Assembly the previous day, Lee Hae-chan said, "This general election is important," and requested, "(Former Prime Minister Lee) to play a significant role in winning the election." At the first meeting of the Public Office Candidate Recommendation Management Committee on the 14th, Lee also urged, "This election will decide whether the country moves forward or backward," and "We must secure more than 10 seats in constituencies that were conceded in proportional representation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.