Choo Mi-ae, Woo Sang-ho, Yoon Young-chan... Democratic Party Faces Daily 'Unfairness' Controversy... Will Public Opinion Turn Away?

Moon Administration Emphasizing 'Fairness' Faces Daily 'Unfairness' Issues... Public Outrage
Political Circles Criticize "Only Remarks That Ignite Public Sentiment... Lack Empathy"
Experts Say "Continuous Controversies Negatively Affect Women and 20s-30s Voters"

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is arriving at the Ministry of Justice, Government Gwacheon Complex, Gyeonggi-do, on the morning of the 10th. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] The ruling party is facing continuous difficulties due to allegations such as the 'preferential leave' during military service of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's son, Seo, and the 'portal site pressure' allegations involving Yoon Young-chan, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea. These controversies have escalated into issues of 'unfairness,' leading to growing criticism.

Some quarters have even criticized this as a 'second Cho Kuk scandal,' drawing parallels to the former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk's case. Consequently, there are concerns that this might immediately lead to a decline in the Democratic Party's approval ratings.

Experts predict that since fairness and equity have become key issues, this could negatively impact party support.

Amid ongoing disputes between the ruling and opposition parties over the 'preferential leave' allegations involving Minister Choo's son Seo, Democratic Party lawmakers are claiming these allegations are 'political attacks.' Particularly, as claims detached from public sentiment continue, the controversy is spreading further.

Kim Jong-min, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, stated at the Supreme Council meeting on the 9th, "There are only allegations without facts," and urged, "The opposition party should stop political attacks based on false information."

On the same day, Woo Sang-ho, also from the Democratic Party, told Yonhap News Agency, "The essence of this issue was whether preferential treatment was given to the son, but it has already been confirmed and settled. It is not worth responding to or intervening," defending Minister Choo.

Woo said, "KATUSA soldiers do not train like the Army. It is a comfortable position in itself, so it is the same wherever you are," and added, "Whether one took leave in KATUSA or not, or whether one changes posts or not, is meaningless," remarks that drew heavy public criticism.

Additionally, on the 8th, during a plenary session of the National Assembly, Yoon Young-chan, a Democratic Party lawmaker, was caught sending a text message to his aide saying, "Tell Kakao to come in," sparking allegations of 'portal site pressure.' On the 9th, Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon cautioned at the Supreme Council meeting, "This could cause misunderstandings." Yoon apologized on his Facebook post the same day, saying, "I will accept the reprimand humbly."

On the afternoon of the 8th, at the National Assembly plenary session hall, Yoon Young-chan, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, was seen exchanging messenger conversations about the news of Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the People Power Party, delivering the negotiation group representative speech on KakaoTalk news. Photo by Yonhap News

As controversies surrounding the Democratic Party are turning into 'unfairness' issues, critical public opinion is growing. Consequently, accusations of a 'second Cho Kuk scandal' are pouring in.

This situation is also affecting party approval ratings. According to a survey conducted by Realmeter, a polling agency, commissioned by YTN from the 31st of last month to the 4th of this month, among 2,522 voters, the Democratic Party's support rate was 37.8%, down 2.6 percentage points from the previous week. By age group, there was a significant drop especially among those in their 20s and 30s. Support among respondents in their 20s fell by 7.3 percentage points to 33.7%, and among those in their 30s, it dropped by 5.3 percentage points to 39.9% compared to the previous week.

Citizens are voicing criticism through online communities and social media. Some parents with children currently serving in the military posted messages such as, "My son who went to heaven! Mom is sorry, not Choo Mi-ae," and "I remember when my son was disappointed after failing to join KATUSA and asked, 'Do parents have no connections?'" expressing their anger.

A university student A (23), who recently completed military service, said, "Some people go to the military because they want to, and endure hardships without complaint. If preferential treatment was given, they should apologize and receive appropriate punishment, but adding fuel to the fire only intensifies the anger."

Job seeker B (26) also pointed out, "Not only the preferential leave allegations but also the unfairness is a 'touchstone' for people in their 20s and 30s, which they realized since last year's 'Cho Kuk scandal.' The fact that related controversies continue shows that the Democratic Party does not understand the people at all."

Other citizens responded with comments such as, "Why can't the Democratic Party empathize with the people?", "They are only eager to cover up their own side's faults, really disappointing," "I think the people will judge them someday," "'Second Cho Kuk scandal'?is that the fairness the Democratic Party talks about?", and "How is using parental power fair?"

Woo Sang-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the confirmation hearing of Han Sang-hyuk, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, held on July 20 at the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee. Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, the opposition party continues its daily offensive against the ruling party embroiled in unfairness controversies.

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, said in a negotiation group representative speech on the 8th, "The reason many young people are angry and despairing is that those who loudly proclaim fairness and justice are trampling on fairness and justice themselves and shamelessly making excuses," adding, "President Moon Jae-in, Minister Choo Mi-ae, how will you bear the consequences? Behind President Moon in the Blue House meeting room, there is a phrase 'Like a country, justly.' The people who see that mockingly say, 'Justice, why are you there?'" harshly criticizing them.

Hwang Gyu-hwan, deputy spokesperson of the People Power Party, released a statement on the 9th, saying, "Democratic Party lawmakers still fail to recognize the essence of the worsening allegations against Minister Choo Mi-ae's son and only make statements that ignite public anger," criticizing, "There is absolutely no sign of empathy."

Hwang added, "All of this is an irresponsible behavior of the 176-seat supermajority ruling party, arrogantly and dogmatically trying only to protect their own side without considering why the people are angry," and pointed out, "They may be trying to cover up faults and defend themselves to survive, but the hearts of the people watching such a ruling party are only burning."

Jin Joong-kwon, former professor at Dongyang University, also wrote on his Facebook the same day, "I don't understand the Democratic Party people," and criticized, "What is worse than corruption is defending corruption. Corruption breaks the rules, but defending corruption destroys the rules themselves."

He continued, "To defend corruption, one must distort facts, so they inevitably resort to sophistry and lies. As a result, language becomes confused and common sense is distorted," emphasizing, "The bigger problem is that the standard of justice collapses. This leads to serious distrust between social classes."

Experts analyzed that the fairness controversy is significantly affecting the core support base of the ruling party, including women and voters in their 20s and 30s.

Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon said, "Controversies such as the late Park Won-soon, former Seoul mayor's case, and the controversy over converting Incheon International Airport Corporation workers to regular positions have occurred consecutively," adding, "Since situations that inevitably affect women and voters in their 20s and 30s have occurred one after another, it should be seen as having a considerable impact on voter defection."

He added, "(Regarding the allegations related to Minister Choo's child) it inevitably acts as a significant burden on the ruling party and the Blue House," and said, "They seem to be preparing to persuade the public, but whether that will succeed remains to be seen."

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