'Hwang Unha of the "Pahandae-so" Controversy: "Provided a Pretext for Malicious Attacks... I Will Become More Mature"'

Controversy Over Group Photo Taken Before Local Flood Warning News on the 30th
"Attended Morning Study Meeting and Took Photo with Fellow Lawmakers" Explanation

Hwang Unha, member of the Democratic Party of Korea (second from the right), is smiling together with fellow party members Park Jumin, Lee Jaejung, Kim Namguk, Kim Seungwon, Kim Yongmin, and Choi Kangwook, leader of the Open Democratic Party. / Photo by Choi Kangwook, captured from Facebook

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Controversy erupted over a photo showing Hwang Unha, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, laughing heartily with a TV news screen reporting flood damage in his constituency, Daejeon, in the background. Hwang stated, "I will become more serious and humble."

On the 31st, Hwang posted on his Facebook, "As soon as the National Assembly plenary session schedule ended, I rushed to the flood damage site in Daejeon," adding, "First, I sincerely offer my condolences to the residents affected by the heavy rain and will do my best for prompt damage recovery and support."

He continued, "There are concerns and criticisms due to the photo controversy reported by some media," and added, "Regardless of the circumstances, it was thoughtless to provide a pretext for malicious reporting."

Hwang said, "I also feel sorry to my supporters who are hurt by providing a pretext for malicious attacks," and "I will take this as an opportunity to mature further."

Earlier, on the 30th afternoon, Choi Kangwook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, posted on Facebook a photo showing him and Democratic Party members Park Jumin, Lee Jaejung, Kim Namguk, Kim Seungwon, and Kim Yongmin sitting together and smiling brightly.

The problem was that the TV screen in the background of the photo was broadcasting news about flood damage in Daejeon. Hwang’s constituency, Jung-gu, Daejeon, experienced flooding in residential areas due to heavy rain since dawn that day, resulting in one death.

The United Future Party strongly criticized this, saying, "It seems they have no regard for the people shedding tears of blood." On the same day, Hwang Kyuhwan, deputy spokesperson of the United Future Party, said in a verbal comment, "News alerts about the flood disaster in Daejeon are being broadcast openly, but Democratic Party members including Hwang are laughing heartily," and pointed out, "The Democratic Party only celebrates their own safety and achievement of goals."

On the 30th, Representative Hwang explained on his Facebook post that the controversial photo was taken as a commemorative picture with fellow lawmakers after attending a morning study meeting. This post has been deleted as of the 31st. / Photo by Facebook capture

In response to such criticism, Hwang explained on his Facebook that day, "I called the site to check the damage situation and decided to go down in the afternoon after finishing the National Assembly plenary session schedule," adding, "I attended a study meeting in the morning and happened to take a commemorative photo with fellow lawmakers who visited."

He further explained, "As always, I posed with a smile at the request of the photographer," and "The TV was on, but no one was watching it. It seems that the flood news was coincidentally being broadcast on the TV at the moment the photo was taken."

He added, "There are moments to smile, times to be serious, and times to roll up our sleeves and work," and criticized, "If a smiling moment is maliciously edited to show a somber scene, readers who do not know the context can only be deceived. It is a case of 'devil’s editing'." However, as the controversy spread, the post has since been deleted.

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