[Backbriefing] "Should I Reply Saying I Love You?" Lawmakers Enduring Protest Calls Against the Anti-Discrimination Act

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] “I am of course prepared. Should I reply that I love them?” On the 25th of last month, Representative Jang Hye-young of the Justice Party received real-time protest messages on her smartphone. Even during moments when she was talking and could not check her phone, new message alerts kept coming in and filled the screen. Representative Jang is the main proposer of the Anti-Discrimination Act in the 21st National Assembly.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

It is not only Representative Jang. The 21st National Assembly members who joined in proposing the Anti-Discrimination Act continue to receive protest calls asking, “Would you want your own children to be like that?” However, the bill proposers are silently enduring this. They do so to uphold their belief in standing against all forms of discrimination.

The press conference for the bill proposal was scheduled for the 29th at the time, and although Representative Jang was still in the process of sending letters to other lawmakers, posts encouraging protests to the lawmakers’ offices were already circulating on the internet. The posts, spread through conservative Christian groups and social media, included the personal phone numbers of not only Representative Jang but all Justice Party members who co-sponsored the bill. Calls flooded the lawmakers’ offices, and at some point, the staff found that answering protest calls had become part of their job rather than their official duties.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The types of calls vary. Some callers do not even know the lawmaker’s name but start by cursing, others calmly try to persuade for hours to withdraw the bill, and some say things like, “Would you be happy if your own child was like that?” trying to evoke emotional responses.

Other lawmakers’ offices who co-sponsored the bill face similar situations. The office of Representative Kwon In-sook of the Democratic Party, who also co-sponsored the bill, receives calls such as, “I am a Democratic Party member, but if you do not withdraw the proposal, I will withdraw my support.”

The office of Representative Yong Hye-in of the Basic Income Party has also become a target. Kim Jun-ho, spokesperson for the Basic Income Party, stated, “Calls come to the office even before the staff arrive at work,” and “There was a time when we received 17 calls in one hour. Calls keep coming to the staff’s numbers, making it impossible to work.”

However, the staff maintain a stance of responding as much as possible rather than ignoring or hanging up the calls, saying, “We will convey this well to the representative.” Representative Yong’s office posted on Facebook on the 1st, “Since there are too many protest calls, please send questions to the representative’s email. We will read them and upload a video answering them.”

A representative from Representative Kwon’s office also emphasized, “The criticism from opponents is different from the purpose of the lifelong activism the representative has devoted herself to,” and “The will to oppose discrimination will not be broken.”

The National Human Rights Commission recommended the legislative promotion of the Anti-Discrimination Act during the Roh Moo-hyun administration in 2006. Since then, over 14 years, the bill has been proposed six times in the National Assembly but was repeatedly defeated due to opposing public opinion. The six bills were either discarded due to expiration of the term or lost effect because the proposers withdrew them.

On the 29th of last month, a new bill was proposed, and the Human Rights Commission also announced plans to promote legislation of the “Act on Equality and Prohibition of Discrimination” (Equality Act). On the 2nd, Chairperson Choi Young-ae of the National Human Rights Commission visited the National Assembly to meet with Speaker Park Byeong-seug and Justice Party Leader Shim Sang-jung, urging them to support the effort. Amid still relentless protests, will the seventh Anti-Discrimination Act finally pass the National Assembly?

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