At the National Audit, Ryu Ho-jeong Called "Hey~" Says "I Exhibited the Everyday Life of Young Women"

"My Role Is to Show the Image of Young Women Above the Public Forum"
"Thanks to the Solidarity of Many People, I Am Able to Continue My Activities"

Ryu Ho-jeong, Justice Party member / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Ryu Hojung, a Justice Party lawmaker, stated at the National Assembly audit that being called "Oi" by Choi Changhee, CEO of Public Home Shopping, made her feel as if she was exhibiting the everyday lives of young women.

On the 20th, Ryu attended an event held at the Grand Bloom of the Millennium Hilton Seoul in Namdaemun-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, and emphasized, "One of my roles is to display the everyday lives of young women in the public sphere."

She added, "When I appeared in a one-piece dress at the plenary session of the National Assembly or when incidents like yesterday’s happen, the reactions can be seen in the comments," explaining, "The public also sees this and understands, 'Oh, this is how they live.'"

On the same day, Ryu shared her past experience of sexual harassment at work and stressed the importance of solidarity. She said, "I remained silent when I was sexually harassed at the company, but later saw a junior who joined after me go through the same thing," adding, "Because I stayed silent, I realized that someone who didn’t have to go through this was experiencing the same thing."

She continued, "Seeing numerous sexual harassment remarks about clothes that many women wear in daily life made me worry that women might start self-censoring," emphasizing, "I felt that I must not bend. The reason I am active like this is because many people are standing in solidarity."

On August 4th, Representative Ryu attended the National Assembly plenary session wearing a 'red dress.' / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, on the 19th, CEO Choi appeared at the National Assembly audit for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ affiliated agencies, where controversy arose after he said "Oi" as if to stop Ryu during her questioning.

During additional questioning that day, when Ryu pointed out regarding the remark, "I thought, 'I’m not the CEO’s friend,'" CEO Choi responded, "I think I just said 'Heoi,' but I’m not sure," and bowed his head, saying, "If there was any misunderstanding, I apologize."

Meanwhile, on August 4th, Ryu appeared at the National Assembly plenary session wearing a pink-toned one-piece dress, which sparked controversy over her attire on internet communities and social networking services (SNS).

At that time, Ryu dismissed the controversy in an interview with a media outlet, saying, "In the past, there might have been discussions about whether to refer such attire to the Ethics Committee, but now it’s 2020," adding, "This kind of outfit is perfectly acceptable to wear."

She also said, "There have always been criticisms of the attire of young female politicians," and added, "I wanted to break the customs of the National Assembly, which is centered around men in their 50s symbolized by black or dark suits and ties."

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