Jeong Cheong-rae to Hwang Kyo-ahn on the '80 Incident': "Stop Eating Tteokbokki and Please Respond..."

Jeong Cheong-rae, former member of the Democratic Party of Korea Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Shin-won] Former Democratic Party lawmaker Jeong Cheong-rae criticized Liberty Korea Party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn on the 11th for referring to the May 18, 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement as "some kind of incident," asking, "Do you really not know?"

On the same day, former lawmaker Jeong posted an article titled "Asking Leader Hwang Kyo-ahn" on his Facebook page.

Jeong asked, "Did you call it 'some kind of incident' because you dislike the term 5.18? Do you still think the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement was just an incident, or do you really not know what happened in Gwangju in May 1980?"

He then sarcastically added, "Stop eating tteokbokki and try answering."

Earlier, on the 9th, Leader Hwang sparked controversy when he told reporters while eating tteokbokki and fish cakes in front of his alma mater, Sungkyunkwan University in Jongno, Seoul, "I attended school here, and I remember that in 1980, there was some kind of incident that caused the school to close temporarily."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

His remarks were interpreted as referring to the nationwide university closures under martial law during the May 18, 1980 Democratization Movement, which triggered controversy.

In response, political circles have issued a series of statements criticizing Leader Hwang's remarks. The Democratic Party said in a statement, "This year marks the 40th anniversary of the 5.18 Democratization Movement. We are appalled by the historical awareness of the leader of the main opposition party, who aims to run in Jongno, the political center, and harbors ambitious dreams of becoming the president of the Republic of Korea."

The Justice Party also released a statement, saying, "Leader Hwang's poor historical awareness is deplorable. Regardless of progressive or conservative camps, no politician should be unaware of what happened in 1980. This brief remark clearly reveals how Leader Hwang has lived his life. It is absurd that someone like Leader Hwang, who does not know the history of democracy in the Republic of Korea, enters mainstream politics."

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