"Garbage Must Be Sorted," "Dementia Patients" - Citizens Fatigued by 'Verbal Battles'

Oh Se-hoon "Moon can't even say 'severe dementia patient'"
Park Young-sun "20s have low historical experience"
Kim Young-chun "Busan is like a stage 3 cancer patient"
Experts "Ongoing negativity causes significant voter fatigue"

On the 28th, ten days before the Seoul mayoral by-election, Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party candidate for Seoul mayor, and Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor, greeted supporters at focused rallies held at the Seocho District Express Bus Terminal and the Gangnam District COEX East Gate Plaza, respectively. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] "You must properly separate your trash on April 7," "Raising housing prices is nothing short of a great crime that will be remembered for generations."

With the April 7 by-elections just 9 days away, the verbal attacks between the ruling and opposition parties are intensifying. The ruling party has used expressions like "trash" and "you must separate your trash properly" directed at opposition candidates, while the opposition has likened President Moon Jae-in to a "severe dementia patient," continuing the harsh verbal exchanges between the two parties.

Despite issuing a 'verbal abuse warning' within their ranks, the excessive remarks from both parties continue to be problematic. Experts point out that the repetitive negative strategies during elections can cause voter fatigue.

On the 27th, Yoon Ho-jung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said at a campaign rally supporting Democratic Seoul mayoral candidate Park Young-sun in Myeonmok-dong, Jungnang-gu, Seoul, "Is a candidate who blatantly lies despite knowing about the land in Naegok-dong trash or not?" and added, "You must properly separate your trash on April 7," drawing criticism.

This was a metaphor comparing Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party's Seoul mayoral candidate, to "trash" after Oh repeatedly explained the 'self-compensation suspicion' regarding his in-laws' land in Naegok-dong, Seoul.

In response, the People Power Party immediately pushed back. On the 28th, Choi Hyung-doo, the party's floor spokesperson, released a statement saying, "The Democratic Party is using 'dirty tactics' by any means to turn the elections they caused with sexual crimes of Seoul and Busan mayors into a mudslinging contest," criticizing, "Every word they utter is a target for 'trash' and 'separation'."

Earlier, on the 26th, the Democratic Party also drew criticism due to a series of controversies involving their Seoul and Busan mayoral candidates. When asked by reporters about the low support rate among people in their 20s, candidate Park said, "People in their 20s have less experience with past history compared to those in their 40s and 50s. So they tend to view the current situations only from the present perspective," sparking controversy over 'youth disparagement.'

Regarding this controversy, Park explained in an interview with JTBC, "I was trying to convey a situation where a person in their 20s told me, 'The People Power Party calls President Moon a dictator, but since I haven't experienced the Jeon Du-hwan era, it's hard to compare the situations,' but my remarks were distorted and edited," adding, "Regardless of the reason, if anyone was hurt, I should have done better."

Busan mayoral candidate Kim Young-chun also stirred controversy by comparing Busan to a "stage 3 cancer patient." At the party's central election committee meeting held at the campaign office in Jin-gu, Busan, he said, "Our Busan is like a stage 3 cancer patient."

He continued, "Nowadays, stage 3 cancer patients can recover and live well if surgery and treatment go well. But if a mere armchair expert or strategist takes charge of the surgery, the patient could die," he said.

On the second day of the official election campaign on the 26th, Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Seoul mayor, appealed for support at a focused rally in front of Sinchon Hyundai Department Store, while Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party's candidate for Seoul mayor, made his appeal at a rally at Yongsan-gu Yongmun Market Intersection. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The opposition party is not free from verbal abuse controversies either. Candidate Oh referred to President Moon as a "severe dementia patient," causing controversy.

During a morning campaign at Jeungmi Station in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Oh criticized the government's real estate policy failures, saying, "(President Moon) said until a year ago that 'there is no problem with housing prices' and 'the situation is stable nationwide,' which sounded like rambling. When I said 'severe dementia patient' during my speech, the ruling party said it was an excessive expression," raising his voice, "Can't the opposition even say that much?" This was a rebuttal after the Democratic Party criticized Oh's past remarks during the Gaecheonjeol rally in Gwanghwamun last year as 'verbal abuse.'

The Democratic Party immediately pushed back. Kang Sun-woo, the party spokesperson, criticized, "Verbal abuse addiction is also a disease," and party member Park Joo-min urged on his Facebook, "Oh's remarks go beyond insulting the president and reveal his views on diseases and disabilities. He must apologize immediately."

As the controversy grew, the leadership of both parties moved to restrain their candidates. Kim Jong-in, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, told reporters, "There will be no such incidents going forward," adding, "It seems the remarks were made in a sudden excited state, and we have warned him about it."

However, on the 27th, Oh continued his sharp criticism of the current administration, saying, "Raising housing prices is nothing short of a great crime that will be remembered for generations."

This kind of negative offensive can be seen as an election strategy aiming to highlight the negative aspects of competitors to gain reflected benefits, a kind of 'supporter consolidation effect.'

However, voter fatigue from the ongoing 'verbal abuse war' during every election remains. Kim (27), an office worker living in Mapo-gu, Seoul, said, "Recently, the level of verbal abuse seems to be getting worse. Election pledges have disappeared, and only verbal abuse is rampant, which has lowered the overall favorability toward politicians," pointing out, "Also, suspicions like Oh's 'Naegok-dong self-compensation' and Park's 'Tokyo apartment' keep coming up, but it's impossible to judge whether these suspicions are true or false."

College student Jung (26) said, "When I read political articles, they are all about disparaging each other. It seems like a contest to see who can use harsher language," adding, "I hope more meaningful statements come out instead of tearing each other down."

Experts point out that negative strategies not only increase voter fatigue but can also cast a negative image on candidates. Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon said, "Negative and verbal abuse battles between the ruling and opposition parties have continued every election. This time is no exception," noting, "Since there are no significant policy issues, negative offensives continue."

He added, "In the Seoul mayoral by-election polls, candidate Park is trailing behind candidate Oh. The ruling party is using negative offensives to narrow the gap in support rates. Meanwhile, the opposition is using negative strategies to solidify their momentum. However, lawmakers who engage in negative attacks tend to have negative images themselves. Therefore, it is better to avoid using negative strategies if possible. Also, when attacked negatively, one should respond actively but not counterattack aggressively."

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