Woo Sang-ho Criticizes "Park Young-sun as Moon Candidate? Na Kyung-won Is Andromeda"

Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Sang-ho, who is running for Seoul mayor [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Amid ongoing political debates surrounding Na Kyung-won, the People Power Party's Seoul mayoral pre-candidate's pledge of 'over 100 million won in marriage and childbirth support,' Woo Sang-ho, the Democratic Party's Seoul mayoral pre-candidate, directly targeted Na on the 8th, saying, "If Park Young-sun is the candidate for the Moon, is Na the candidate for Andromeda?"

Previously, Na Kyung-won and Park Young-sun, both Seoul mayoral pre-candidates, engaged in a heated exchange over marriage and childbirth support pledges. When Park expressed a negative view, saying "Giving money does not lead to childbirth," Na countered by asking, "Are you trying to be the Moon mayor?"

On the same day, Woo posted on his Facebook, "While the claim to expand welfare is welcome, upon closer inspection, Na's pledge is an election promise without consistent principles, merely a populist pledge," joining the criticism against Na.

He pointed out, "The core of Na's pledge is to distribute cash to increase marriage and births," adding, "However, the decline in marriage and births is because the responsibility for care and child-rearing has been entirely placed on the individuals involved."

He continued, "Policies that throw money at individuals and tell them to raise children on their own have already failed in countries like Germany and Singapore," and said, "Unless a system is established where local and central governments take responsibility for care and child-rearing, issues like career breaks for working women and the resulting low birthrate problem cannot be fundamentally improved."

He further criticized, "The proliferation of such pledges may be because women are still viewed merely as subjects for childbirth," and added, "I once again feel that the outdated framework of the premodern patriarchal system is not free even when the speaker is a woman."

Finally, Woo said, "If Candidate Park is the candidate for the Moon, then Na Kyung-won is the candidate for Andromeda," and asked, "Where has the Na Kyung-won of yesterday gone, who said 'Let's proceed with dignity, not ridicule'? I strongly advise against reckless disparagement."

Meanwhile, Na recently announced a pledge to provide up to 117 million won in subsidies depending on age, income, and duration for those who become independent in Seoul, get married, and have children.

The pledge includes 45 million won upon marriage, an additional 45 million won upon childbirth, and full coverage of loan interest for three years, offering benefits totaling over 100 million won.

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