Lee Jung-mi: "Kim Nam-guk's Behavior, Typical Gapjil... Using Gender Issues as a Defense"

Photo by Jeongmi Lee, former leader of the Justice Party, Facebook post capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] Former Justice Party leader Lee Jeong-mi criticized Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Nam-guk on the 10th, calling him a "typical gapjil."

On that day, Lee posted on her Facebook, "Sometimes when a problem arises, you simply cannot understand what the problem is. In such cases, those who have mostly lived without failure tend to react immediately," she said.

Lee added, "Thinking deeply for a day or two, seeking advice from people around who have sensitivity and experience with such matters, reflecting, and missing the opportunity to study life?he very cleverly used gender issues as a means of self-defense. He used supporters who react negatively to gender issues as a shield," she said.

She continued, "The behavior of lawmaker Kim Nam-guk this time is a typical case of gapjil. Moreover, I have never seen such a response and reaction inside Yeouido," she said.

On April 15th, during the 21st general election, Lee Jeong-mi, the Justice Party candidate for Yeonsu-eul, Incheon, is watching the broadcast station's exit poll results at her campaign office in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, on the 8th, during a public hearing on the revision of the abortion law by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, lawmaker Kim asked Kim Jeong-hye, a research fellow at the Korea Women's Policy Institute, questions such as "I want to know men's perception of the government bill." In response, Justice Party spokesperson Jo Hye-min criticized it as "absurd remarks." Kim then allegedly called Jo and threatened and verbally abused her, saying, "If you do not take action, we will not support anything the Justice Party does, including the abolition of the abortion law and the enactment of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act."

In response, spokesperson Jo said, "The reason a lawmaker from the ruling party could make a threatening call to a spokesperson from another party was probably because I am a 'young woman' and a 'spokesperson from a minor party outside the National Assembly (not a lawmaker).'" She added, "Would he have called me like that if I were a senior middle-aged male politician?"

Then, lawmaker Kim Nam-guk said, "I am uncomfortable with the emphasis on 'a young female spokesperson in her 30s,'" adding, "Can't women receive protest calls? Can't women be questioned about their mistakes and have right and wrong clarified?" He also said, "Men also feel fear," and "The Justice Party's statement is itself a threat and gapjil that causes fear to others."

Regarding this, former leader Lee said, "'Lawmaker Kim Nam-guk reportedly said that if no action is taken, they will not support anything the Justice Party does, including the abolition of the abortion law and the enactment of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act,'" mentioning, "This is a part of our spokesperson's statement. There is no denial about whether he actually said this. It is a statement worth keeping and occasionally bringing up," she criticized.

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