Kim Eun-hye Criticizes Park Young-sun Over 'Tokyo Apartment Ownership Controversy,' Sparks Backlash for "Mute After Eating Honey" Disability Insult Remarks

On the morning of the 3rd, Kim Eun-hye, a member of the People Power Party, and other members of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office in Yeouido, Seoul, regarding allegations of pre-purchasing land worth over 10 billion won by executives and employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Kim Eun-hye, spokesperson for the People Power Party's by-election campaign committee, has sparked controversy by criticizing Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party's Seoul mayoral candidate, for owning an apartment in Tokyo, Japan, using a term that disparages people with disabilities. Kim later revised the expression and apologized.

On the 21st, Kim issued a statement saying, "The hypocrisy and duplicity where if I do it, it's 'overseas investment,' but if others do it, it's 'native Japanese collaborator' is tiresome for the public," criticizing the Democratic Party by adding, "While multi-homeowner citizens are treated like criminals and hit with punitive tax bombs, Park Young-sun's ownership of two homes is called overseas investment."

He continued, "Last year, the Democratic Party said 'the general election is a Korea-Japan match,' but for some reason, they are silent about Park Young-sun's ultra-luxury apartment in Japan," pointing out, "People who branded a 3,000 won canned beer or a 10,000 won T-shirt as 'pro-Japanese' become 'mute as honey-eaters' when it comes to Park, who owns an apartment with a 'Yasukuni Shrine view' worth over 1 billion won."

Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Seoul mayor, announced the 'Seocho-gu Local Pledge' on the 21st at the Democratic Party Seocho (Gap) District Committee office located in Banpo Shopping Town, Seocho-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, the metaphor "mute as honey-eaters" became problematic. The term "mute" used by Kim is a derogatory word referring to people with speech disabilities. Some pointed out that considering Kim's background as a journalist, he could not have been unaware of the meaning behind this term and accused him of making a disparaging remark about people with disabilities.

Following the controversy over the disparaging remark, Kim said, "No matter how much it is a proverb, I was lacking," and revised the phrase "mute as honey-eaters" to "remaining silent."

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