[Summary] Oh Se-hoon’s 'Rich Family Heir' Remark Fallout… Go Min-jung Asks, "Do You Know People’s Hearts Are Hurt?"

Criticism Over Candidate Oh's YouTube Interview Remarks
Rep. Ko: "A Careless Word from an Adult Can Deeply Hurt a Child"
Candidate Oh's Side: "We Have Also Made Opposite Remarks," Rebuttal

On the afternoon of the 15th, Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor, is speaking at the joint meeting of People Power Party Gyeonggi Province lawmakers and party committee chairpersons held at the People Power Party Central Office in Yeouido, Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The backlash against Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party's Seoul mayoral candidate, over his so-called 'rich family offspring' remark is intensifying. Ko Min-jung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, strongly criticized Oh's comment, saying, "Do you know how deeply hurtful a thoughtless word can be?"

Earlier, Oh appeared on the 'Hankook Ilbo' YouTube channel interview on the 10th. When asked, "Is there a moment in your political career you wish you could take back?" he replied, "If anything, it would be resigning from the mayoral position. I sincerely regret that."

He continued, "I have never opposed free school meals. I opposed free meals for the rich," emphasizing, "Where in the world is anything truly free? It's tax-funded meals."

He then explained, "If there were resources to provide even to the children of wealthy families, I would rather support children from poor families more robustly to create what is called an educational ladder."

Candidate Oh was criticized by some netizens for referring to the wealthy family's "child" and the poor family's "kid" during an interview on the Hankook Ilbo YouTube channel on the 10th. / Photo by Hankook Ilbo YouTube capture

However, after the interview was released, the remark received criticism from some netizens. Referring to children from rich families as 'offspring' and children from poor families simply as 'children' was pointed out as essentially discriminatory.

Criticism also continued within the political sphere regarding Oh's interview remarks.

On the 15th, Ko wrote on her Facebook, "Oh Se-hoon calls our residents living in Gwangjin-gu 'Joseonjok' and defends himself by asking what is wrong with that," pointing out, "He seems unaware of how many residents have been hurt by his verbal slip."

She added, "Oh still says about the free school meal vote, 'I opposed free meals for the rich. Where in the world is anything free? It's tax-funded meals,' showing he does not understand why people wanted to provide food to all children," and criticized, "Eventually, in one interview, he caused controversy by calling children from rich families 'offspring' and children from poor families simply 'children.'"

Ko Min-jung, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea / Photo by Yonhap News

She further criticized, saying, "Welfare is not about the wealthy bestowing favors on the less fortunate," and "He seems completely unaware of how deeply hurtful a thoughtless word from an adult can be to children with tender hearts."

Ko expressed concern, "I fear that a narrow perspective and distorted mindset might be transmitted to our children," emphasizing, "We do not want politicians who cannot even meet the basic standards of respecting people and treating them equally."

However, there was also a rebuttal claiming misunderstanding. Oh's side explained, "Oh has also referred to 'children from rich families' and 'children of those in difficult circumstances'."

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