"Go to Ahn Cheol-soo," Geum Tae-seop Reveals Mocking Text at 4 AM

Geum Tae-seop, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Sung-yeol] On the early morning of the 12th, Geum Tae-seop, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, shared a critical text message he received and introduced a way to respond by saying, "When you reply politely with everyday content at times like this, in almost all cases, the tone softens and mutual conversation becomes possible."

In a post on Facebook that day, Representative Geum said, "Like any politician, I receive many messages of criticism or ridicule as much as encouragement or praise."

He stated, "The voices of voters are all precious words that must be humbly listened to, but when harsh words are exchanged, it is difficult to have a genuine conversation."

Regarding why polite responses make conversation possible, Representative Geum explained, "I guess that when receiving such a reply, the other person also feels that the respondent is a 'person' who, like themselves, has a family, commutes, and sleeps at night."

Text message history disclosed by Geum Tae-seop, member of the Democratic Party of Korea / Photo by Geum Tae-seop, captured from Facebook

He also revealed the text message content, saying, "I woke up because I received a message from an unknown person at 4:20 a.m. today, and when I looked at my phone, it was a critical message."

The sender of the message told Representative Geum, "Now that it's election season, you want to run as a Democrat, right? Where did that so-called conviction go? Go to Ahn Cheol-soo."

Representative Geum said, "After a moment of thought, I replied, 'You wake up early,'" and added, "Shortly after, I received a polite reply saying, 'We have to do our best,' along with a smiling face emoticon."

He said, "When it reaches this state, even if thoughts differ, conversation becomes possible."

Furthermore, he added, "The same applies to disputes among politicians," and said, "Using harsh language or rude remarks does not mean the intention is understood or that one wins. Softness overcomes strength."

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