Kim Seung-won, who wrote 'Park Byeong-seok GSGG,' criticized by Geum Tae-seop: "Insult to the people, must be disciplined"

Kim Seung-won explains "'GSGG' means the government should serve the people"

A post uploaded on Facebook by Kim Seung-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 31st criticizing Park Byeong-seok, the Speaker of the National Assembly. The expression "GSGG" at the end of the post sparked controversy, with some questioning whether it was a swear word. Photo by Kim Seung-won

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Joo-hee] Former Democratic Party lawmaker Geum Tae-seop has argued that Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seung-won, who used the expression "GSGG" that evokes profanity directed at National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok, should be disciplined.

On the 31st, Geum strongly criticized Kim in a post on Facebook, saying, "Without a single word of apology or reflection, even the excuse he offered is vulgar and cowardly beyond measure."

Earlier, in the early morning of the same day, Kim posted on his Facebook expressing regret over the failure to bring the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act to the plenary session as scheduled on the previous day (the 30th). He sarcastically addressed Speaker Park, saying, "Park Byeong-seok, thank you very much. This will go down in history," and wrote "GSGG." This was a claim implying that the failure of the plenary session on the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act was Speaker Park's responsibility. Although Speaker Park has the authority to bring the bill to the floor on his own as the Speaker, he is known to emphasize consensus between the ruling and opposition parties.

Regarding the expression "GSGG" used by Kim, netizens pointed out that it might be the English initials of a profanity comparing someone to a certain animal. After criticism that it was an inappropriate expression continued, Kim explained in a phone interview with a media outlet that day, "The government should serve the general will of the people, so 'Government serve general G' was abbreviated, but since there were criticisms that it was a vulgar term, I corrected it." However, he did not separately explain why the last initial "G" stands for "will."

Former Democratic Party lawmaker Geum Tae-seop. / Photo by Yonhap News

In response, former lawmaker Geum said, "Members of the National Assembly represent the entire people, so regardless of evaluations of their affiliated parties or individuals, they must respect each other," and pointed out, "Lawmakers with different opinions from oneself are also people chosen by voters."

He continued, "A lawmaker who publicly insulted the Speaker of the National Assembly by calling him by name and using the abbreviation '개XX' because a controversial bill did not pass as desired must be disciplined by the National Assembly," adding, "The person insulted is not just Speaker Park Byeong-seok personally, but the entire people he represents."

Former lawmaker Geum also strongly criticized, saying, "Without a single word of apology or reflection, even the excuse he offered is vulgar and cowardly beyond measure. General G? What nonsense is that? I am embarrassed that such a person represents us."

It is known that Kim personally visited Speaker Park to apologize regarding this controversy.

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