Gominjeong Criticizes "Yoon's Remarks as Below Standard," Opposition Calls Him "Moon Jae-myung Who Only Gives Handouts"

Gominjeong Attacks Yoon's Past Remarks at National Assembly Budget Committee
Opposition Counters by Mentioning Basic Income and Disaster Relief Payments

Ko Min-jung, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Joo-hee] On the 8th, Go Min-jung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, launched a focused offensive by citing past remarks of Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, during the National Assembly Budget and Accounts Committee's comprehensive policy questioning session. The People Power Party countered by mentioning Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate's proposals for basic income and additional nationwide disaster relief payments, accusing the ruling party of being obsessed with 'irresponsible handouts.'

During the comprehensive policy questioning session held for the review of next year's budget, Rep. Go spent the entire 20-minute questioning time criticizing candidate Yoon by enumerating his past remarks one by one.

The gaffes of candidate Yoon mentioned by Rep. Go include statements such as "A dog for consumption is raised separately," "Manual labor is something done only in Africa," "I have never been able to create a subscription savings account because I don't own a house," "The discharge of Fukushima contaminated water is not a problem," and "Only major media should be trusted."

Rep. Go questioned Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Kim Hyun-soo, asking, "Is there a separate category of dogs for consumption from birth?" When Minister Kim replied, "There is no legal distinction at present," Rep. Go criticized candidate Yoon, saying, "Candidate Yoon's remark that 'dogs for consumption are raised separately' caused a huge controversy. It could be interpreted as saying that dogs born as dogs for consumption can be slaughtered and eaten. I wonder what people living with companion dogs think when they hear such words."

Rep. Go then asked Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, "Manual labor is something done in Africa. How would it be if such remarks were made by a sitting president?" She also targeted Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Noh Hyung-wook, saying, "It is common sense that subscription savings accounts are made by people without houses to buy their own homes."

Regarding Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Moon Sung-hyuk, she asked, "Candidate Yoon said that the discharge of Fukushima contaminated water is not a big problem. Do you agree with that as a minister?" In response to Rep. Go's question, the ministers generally replied, "I do not think it is the right course of action," or "It does not seem appropriate."

Rep. Go also said, "I pointed out problems across all ministries. If there are public officials in these ministries who express such substandard opinions, I wonder what the members sitting here would say," and criticized, "(These remarks) are currently coming from candidate Yoon himself. There are more than ten allegations surrounding him and his family."

Yoon Seok-yeol, People Power Party presidential candidate. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

In response to Rep. Go's offensive, the People Power Party counterattacked by mentioning candidate Lee's proposals for basic income and additional nationwide disaster relief payments.

Rep. Kim Seon-kyo said, "Presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is advocating basic income and is only talking about handing out money wherever he goes," adding, "Regardless of the state treasury, he is determined to give out money unconditionally. This is very similar to President Moon Jae-in's actions so far. That's why people call him 'Moon Jae-myung' (a combination of Moon Jae-in and Lee Jae-myung)."

Rep. Jeong Un-cheon also pointed out, "National debt increased by 14.2% during the Moon Jae-in administration, rising from 400 trillion to 600 trillion won. This increase is greater than the total increase during the Roh Moo-hyun, Lee Myung-bak, and Park Geun-hye administrations," and criticized, "How much contribution to one's life can 400,000 to 500,000 won make?"

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