“Why don’t you be the president”…Dangjin’s Eo Gi-gu lawmaker sparks controversy with harsh words to voters

A screenshot of text messages capturing a heated exchange between Representative Eo Gi-gu and a voter. The photo has been confirmed to be rapidly spreading on Facebook, KakaoTalk, and other platforms since the afternoon of the 20th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy (Dangjin) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Controversy has arisen over allegations that Democratic Party lawmaker Eo Gi-gu (57) used mocking language and profanity toward a voter. Lawmaker Eo is a re-elected member who ran for office in Dangjin, Chungnam, in the general election held on the 15th and won.

As of the 21st, content believed to be text messages exchanged by Lawmaker Eo on the previous day is being shared on an internet cafe.

These text messages were exchanged with Mr. A, who identified himself as a voter. Mr. A sent a group text message to Lawmaker Eo and others, stating, "Please align with the government and set the disaster relief fund at 70%. It’s not just a one-time thing. Please consider the future as well. The people elected you to help the government."

However, in response to Mr. A’s request, Lawmaker Eo replied in a mocking tone, saying, "Why don’t you become the president?" to which Mr. A retorted, "I’m telling you, Lawmaker Eo Gi-gu, who was elected to the National Assembly, to do your job."

While the exchange between Mr. A and Lawmaker Eo was ongoing, another voter, Mr. B, joined in. Mr. B sharply criticized Lawmaker Eo, saying, "Do your job properly. How dare you speak informally and threaten a voter? You’re acting arrogantly just because you were elected."

In response to Mr. B’s intervention, Lawmaker Eo replied, "You son of a b****, a voter should act like a voter," escalating the controversy.

Captures of the text message exchanges among Lawmaker Eo, Mr. A, and Mr. B were posted on the internet cafe and have rapidly spread since the afternoon of the 20th through social networks such as Facebook and online messengers like KakaoTalk.

The phone number shown as the recipient in the captured screenshots has been confirmed to be the actual phone number used by Lawmaker Eo.

Regarding this matter, Lawmaker Eo’s office stated, "We are currently investigating who sent the messages and the circumstances that led to the verbal dispute with Lawmaker Eo." At present, direct contact with Lawmaker Eo himself has not been established.

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