Candidate Joo Dong-sik of Gwangju Seo-gu Gap Faces Controversy Over 'May 18 Denigration' Remarks

Candidate Debate Claims "Gwangju Has Become a City Where Ancestral Rites Are Like a Main Job"

May Organizations to Release Statement... Past Sewol Ferry Satirical Remarks Also Reexamined

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Joo Dong-sik, the United Future Party candidate for the Gwangju Metropolitan City Seo-gu (Gap) National Assembly election, is embroiled in controversy for making remarks that belittle the May 18 Democratic Uprising.

At a candidate debate on the 8th, Joo claimed, "Under the guise of being a sacred place of democratization, the memorial rituals commemorating the tragedy have become almost like a main occupation."

He said, "The activists have been creating facilities and events unrelated to production by invoking May 18 and democratization, extorting budgets and living idly," adding, "Whenever companies show signs of investment, they launch opposition movements under various pretexts, and only the loudest voices reap benefits, turning the city into one avoided by companies and abandoned by youth."

He continued, "Gwangju is a city stuck in the 1980s," and emphasized, "I have consistently conveyed the message to the conservative camp that if they do not abandon racial hatred toward Honam, the Republic of Korea will perish, so I boldly claim that I have the right to give such advice about my hometown Gwangju."

In response, the May 18 organizations are reportedly preparing to issue a statement.

Meanwhile, Joo, who is facing controversy for his belittling remarks about May 18, is also being criticized again for past comments mocking the Sewol ferry disaster.

In August 2018, Joo posted on his SNS, "There is no need to worry about job creation. Let's make Sewol ferries every month and sink them," adding, "We can create as many quality jobs as we want through the truth investigation committee, etc."

He also said, "I said to make many Sewol ferries and sink them, but I never said to put people on them," and "It was just satire on the waste of public funds under the pretext of investigating the truth about Sewol, so please do not misunderstand."

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