"Government Subs General Good" Yeo Kim Seung-won, What Do You Think About 'GSGG'?

"Park Byeong-seok~~ Thank you very much. This will go down in history. GSGG"
After controversy over explicit profanity, visited Chairman Park to apologize... Public apology also made on SNS

Kim Seung-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and vice chairman of the Media Innovation Special Committee, wrote on Facebook about his feelings containing 'GSGG' directed at Speaker Park Byeong-seok after the plenary session of the National Assembly to pass the Media Arbitration Act was canceled. The post was visible to everyone, sparking controversy over whether it constituted a harsh insult toward the Speaker. Photo by Kim Seung-won, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker, Facebook capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] "Government serves general good."

On the 2nd, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, criticized Kim Seung-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, for using the expression 'GSGG' directed at National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok and then explaining it away, saying, "This is nonsense. A feast of meaningless words."

As controversy arose over whether Kim had effectively used a public vulgar insult toward the Speaker, the People Power Party demanded an official apology. There are allegations that GSGG is a euphemistic representation of the Korean curse word 'gae××' using alphabets.

Amid growing backlash, Kim issued a public apology on the 2nd. In a post on Facebook that day, he said, "I sincerely apologize to the local voters who trusted and supported me," and "I also offer my apologies once again to Speaker Park Byeong-seok."

Kim Seung-won, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

Kim also said, "I was deeply emotionally involved while reading the book 'Have You Ever Been Victimized by the Media?' written by victims of the media who wrote with a bleeding heart," adding, "I wanted to create a law to remedy media damage that fits the rapidly changing media environment." He continued, "I should have been more patient and worked harder. I should have worked together with fellow lawmakers and the public. It was hasty and foolish," and said, "I will think twice before writing or speaking again. I will deeply take to heart the Speaker's stern reprimand and strive to do good politics."

He added, "I will work harder to restore the rightful place of the media, the last puzzle piece in the completion of democracy, to complete the Media Voucher Act and restore the media ecosystem."

Earlier, Kim, who is the secretary to floor leader Yoon Ho-jung and vice-chairman of the party's Media Innovation Special Committee, wrote on social media in the early hours of the 31st of last month regarding the failure to table the media law, "Park Byeong-seok~~ Thank you very much. This will go down in history. GSGG." When controversy arose over whether he had publicly insulted the Speaker, he edited the post seven hours later.

Kim revised it to say, "However, we must not forget that the governor has the duty to faithfully serve the general will of the people." He later explained that GSGG stands for "Government serve(s) general G" (government serving the general will). However, he did not explain why the last initial 'G' represents 'will.'

Some speculate that by including the title 'Speaker,' Kim was trying to explain that the 'G' in GSGG refers to 'governor.' However, 'governor' typically refers to a provincial governor or president, while the National Assembly Speaker is usually translated as 'speaker (of assembly)' in English.

Kim later explained again that GSGG stands for "Government serve(s) general G" (government serving the general will), but did not clarify why the last initial 'G' means 'will.' Then, just before the plenary session on the 31st of last month, he visited the Speaker's office with floor deputy leader Han Byung-do and apologized directly to Speaker Park.

Photo by Seungwon Kim, captured from the Facebook page of Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker

The People Power Party criticized the Democratic Party for taking a hardline stance on the Media Arbitration Act and said the incident occurred in the process.

On the 2nd, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, said in an interview with YTN Radio's 'Hwang Bo-seon's Start New Morning,' "The Democratic Party started pushing for forced passage, but on that day, Cheong Wa Dae political secretary Lee Cheol-hee visited, and the forced passage stance was significantly softened," adding, "As a result, a ruling party lawmaker dissatisfied with Speaker Park Byeong-seok's mediation plan protested the suspension of the forced passage using an expression that inevitably reminded people of a vulgar word."

When the host asked, "Are you referring to GSGG?" Lee replied, "Yes. Within the Democratic Party, it can only be seen as a hardline current, as evidenced by the GSGG remark."

Regarding the previous day’s strong disciplinary intention expressed by National Assembly Deputy Speaker Jeong Jin-seok, who said, "Is the National Assembly a hot barji?" Lee said, "Since it has already received very strong criticism from public opinion, not many people believe that this will be taken to the National Assembly Ethics Committee and result in actual disciplinary action," adding, "I understand the intention behind Deputy Speaker Jeong Jin-seok's remarks, and for the sake of upholding the authority of the National Assembly, such remarks must never be made again."

He added, "He (Kim) explained it as 'Government serves general,' but this is nonsense. This is a feast of meaningless words. The fact that he explained it away as a feast of meaningless words is rather strange, and sometimes people who do 'drunken SNS' say things like this."

Earlier, on the early morning of August 31, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim posted on his Facebook after the failure to table the Media Arbitration Act, which he had strongly pushed for, "We failed today. We could not embody the people's aspirations. I am sorry. Park Byeong-seok~~ Thank you very much. This will go down in history. GSGG."

As interpretations that the word 'GSGG' used by Kim was a curse gained traction, political controversy intensified. Kim explained that GSGG means "the political sphere must serve the general will of the people (Government Serve General G)," but some in the political world responded, as Lee did, that it was a "nonsense explanation."

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