"By-election, Learning Opportunity" "Please Save the Assembly Member" Controversy Over Offensive Remarks

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] "(Seoul and Busan mayoral by-election) Election costs 83.8 billion KRW, an opportunity for the entire nation to undergo gender-sensitivity collective learning" (National Assembly Budget and Accounts Committee plenary session - Minister Lee Jung-ok of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family). "(To the Chief of the Court Administration) Members of the National Assembly, please save me, just try it once." (National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee plenary session - Park Beom-gye, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker).

On the 6th, the aftershocks of Minister Lee and Assemblyman Park's remarks continued. A, a sexual violence victim of former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don, said on the 5th through the Oh Keo-don Sexual Violence Incident Joint Countermeasures Committee, "To say the Oh Keo-don case is an opportunity for collective learning, then am I a study material?" She added, "I have been desperately pretending to be fine and struggling to live because I don't want to cause trouble to those around me, but how can a Minister of Gender Equality treat my life as a means? If she had even a tiny bit of interest in how I live, she would never say such things."

Jeon Ju-hye, a People Power Party lawmaker, called for Minister Lee's resignation on her Facebook, saying, "This is an insulting remark to victims and a secondary victimization." Jung Ho-jin, senior spokesperson of the Justice Party, also criticized, "Is she really the Minister of Gender Equality to call the election caused by power-based sexual crimes an opportunity for national collective learning?" Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon pointed out, "They committed sexual harassment themselves and now ask the public to spend 83.8 billion KRW of their own money on gender-sensitivity training."

Minister Lee, who had claimed it was "excessive political conflict," said at the afternoon Budget Committee meeting on the same day, "I feel sorry for the victims. I was overwhelmed by the need for gender-sensitivity education and used an expression that could be misunderstood."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Professor Kim Geun-sik of Gyeongnam National University, chairman of the People Power Party's Songpa-byeong district, shared an article containing Assemblyman Park's remarks on his Facebook, calling the statement "Try asking to be saved" the pinnacle of abusive language. He criticized, "I wonder if Assemblyman Park lacks a sense of guilt or conscience. Before scolding others, I hope he reflects on himself and refrains from such behavior."

As controversy grew with Assemblyman Park's name trending in real-time internet searches, he apologized in a press release, saying, "I asked that question with a desperate hope that the budget would be restored. However, I think this expression might have caused misunderstandings that a member of the National Assembly abused superior authority." He also added, "I indirectly asked the Chief of the Court Administration if he was displeased with the expression, and I received an indirect message not to worry about it."

The aftermath of former Presidential Chief of Staff Noh Young-min's remarks also continued. On the 4th, during the National Assembly Steering Committee's audit, Noh said in response to questions about the Gwanghwamun rally, "Are you defending those who attended an illegal rally? They are murderers. Murderers!" When the People Power Party criticized this as "showing the arrogance of this government intoxicated with power" and said, "He is calling the people murderers," Noh expressed regret, saying, "It was an excessive expression."

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