"Like a Local PC Bang"... Justice Party "Strongly Regrets" Excessive Criticism of Ryu Ho-jeong

"Continued Remarks Objectifying Women Sexually"
"It Is Now 2020... Expressing Regret Over Current Reality"

Ryu Ho-jeong, a Justice Party lawmaker, is briefly leaving the plenary session held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 4th. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Ryu Hojung, a Justice Party lawmaker, attended the National Assembly plenary session wearing a pink dress, sparking controversy over the so-called 'National Assembly attire.' Amid inappropriate remarks including sexual harassment directed at Ryu on some online communities, the Justice Party expressed regret.

On the afternoon of the 5th, Justice Party spokesperson Jo Hyemin issued a statement saying, "Yesterday, posts criticizing the outfit worn by our party's lawmaker Ryu Hojung at the National Assembly plenary session have been posted," and pointed out, "These remarks are nothing but demands for so-called politician-like attire and appearance while simultaneously sexualizing women."

She added, "We strongly express regret that the criticism directed at our party's lawmaker Ryu Hojung contains sexist prejudice."

She continued, "We cannot agree with the behavior that tries to declare 'unqualified' as a politician by evaluating female politicians based on their appearance and image rather than their legislative activities," and said, "The attitude that considers the attire of middle-aged men as anti-authoritarian but evaluates the attire of young women as unpolitical is nothing but a double standard, which is uncomfortable."

Spokesperson Jo said, "Female lawmakers have previously been criticized for wearing pants or choosing brightly colored outfits," and emphasized, "We express regret at the current reality and remind that it is the year 2020."

Earlier, on the previous day, Lawmaker Ryu attended the National Assembly plenary session wearing a pink dress and a yellow mask. As this became known, some internet communities and social networking services (SNS) flooded with criticism that Ryu's attire was inappropriate. Some netizens made inappropriate remarks such as "Did you come from the local PC bang?" and "A karaoke hostess."

In response, some raised questions along the lines of "Is there a prescribed attire to wear at the National Assembly?" Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joongkwon strongly criticized on his Facebook on the 5th, saying, "Is there a separate National Assembly uniform?" and "Crazy bastards, acting like fools."

Meanwhile, Lawmaker Ryu has previously been involved in controversies over her attire. On the 20th of last month, she attended the National Assembly plenary session wearing jeans and a white shirt, and on the 30th of the same month, she also attended the National Assembly in casual clothing.

Amid this, Lawmaker Ryu claimed that there is nothing wrong with her National Assembly attire. In a phone interview with 'Newsis' on the 5th, she said, "I do not think the authority of the National Assembly will be forever established by suits," and pointed out, "Customs or TPO (time, place, occasion) are not always the same forever."

She then questioned, "Even aside from attire, is the National Assembly, filled with middle-aged men from the 1950s, truly representing the citizens?"

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