"Minister Kang Kyung-wha lived with a Private First Class..." Han Ki-ho's Controversial Overstepping Remarks

Retired Lieutenant General Han Gi-ho: "Private Lee Il-byeong and Minister Kang Kyung-hwa are admirable just for having lived"

Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] Controversy has arisen after People Power Party lawmaker Han Ki-ho posted a seemingly mocking comment about Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa’s husband, who left for the United States to purchase a yacht, and Minister Kang herself.

On the 6th, Lawmaker Han wrote on Facebook, "I understand Professor Lee Il-byeong (Kang Kyung-hwa’s husband). Just living with Minister Kang Kyung-hwa until now is admirable enough."

This remark can be interpreted as "Professor Lee Il-byeong must have had a hard time living with Minister Kang Kyung-hwa. Therefore, it is understandable that he is going on a yacht trip."

People Power Party Representative Han Ki-ho Photo by Yonhap News

Lawmaker Han also added a comment on the post, "I understand Minister Kang as well. She lived with a private first class, so it’s different if she lived with a general."

Han, a former Army lieutenant general, used the name of Professor Lee Il-byeong as a military rank pun.

Earlier, Professor Lee Il-byeong faced criticism after boarding a flight to the United States on the 3rd to purchase a yacht, despite the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advising against overseas travel due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. It appears Lawmaker Han intended to criticize the conduct of Minister Kang and her husband.

However, there were successive criticisms that Lawmaker Han’s remarks had gone too far, and the post has since been deleted.

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