Lee Nak-yeon Side: "Gyeonggi Tourism Corporation Should Be Renamed 'Gyeonggi Matjip Corporation'"... Controversy Continues Over Appointment of Hwang Kyo-ik

Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province and presidential primary candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] Lee Jae-myung, governor of Gyeonggi Province and a presidential primary candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, has appointed food columnist Hwang Kyo-ik as president of the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization, sparking ongoing backlash within the party.

Earlier, Lee’s camp issued active explanations regarding the controversy surrounding Hwang’s appointment. On the 15th, Hyun Geun-taek, spokesperson for the Lee Jae-myung campaign, posted on his Facebook page that "recommending good restaurants is not an easy task." Additionally, Representative Park Sung-jun praised Hwang on MBC Radio, saying, "He possesses excellent humanities knowledge and communication skills through his perspective on viewing the world via taste."

However, criticism continues daily within the Democratic Party regarding Lee’s camp’s defense. In particular, Kim Hyo-eun, spokesperson for the Lee Nak-yeon camp, stated in a commentary released today (16th), "There is widespread criticism of Hwang’s appointment," adding, "Despite being a typical patronage appointment ignoring expertise, Gyeonggi Province has provided no satisfactory explanation."

At the same time, Spokesperson Kim also criticized Lee Jae-myung camp officials for their active defense. He said, "The absurd defense that introducing good restaurants is a form of expertise came from the spokesperson of Lee Jae-myung’s campaign," adding, "Just seeing the campaign speak on matters that should be handled by the Gyeonggi Province spokesperson shows that the current provincial administration and presidential campaign are intertwined. It is no wonder the Lee Jae-myung camp is called the provincial government camp."

Spokesperson Kim further criticized, "The claim that introducing good restaurants is tourism expertise insults Korea’s tourism professionals," and said, "They should rename the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization to the Gyeonggi Good Restaurant Organization." He also sarcastically remarked, "If a food columnist is a tourism expert, then someone who has introduced representative local dishes and food culture suited to Korean sensibilities for over ten years through television programs would be more of an expert. It would be even better if tourism were promoted through comics, so how about hiring a cartoonist who introduces good restaurants?"

Spokesperson Kim stated, "Hwang’s lack of expertise is a disqualifying factor, but his disparagement of our food and culture is an even bigger problem." He continued, "He once dismissed Jeju Island’s food as tasteless, showing disrespect to Jeju," and criticized, "If he becomes president, there is concern he will regard all regional foods across the country as African food and only Gyeonggi Province’s food as the best," adding, "The future of DMZ peace tourism and ecological tourism, which are core to Gyeonggi tourism, looks bleak."

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