In front of disabled people, "normal people" and "our disabled"… Yoon Seok-yeol's series of verbal slip controversies

Yoon Uses Inappropriate Terms Twice in Front of Disabled People
Experts: "Discriminatory Language Against Disabled Is Not a Small Mistake"
"Questioning Whether There Was Any Consideration for Disabled"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is delivering an encouragement speech at the launch ceremony of the party's Central Election Countermeasures Committee's Disability Welfare Support Headquarters' nationwide relay policy tour "Jangmunhyeondap (The answer to disability issues lies in the field)" held in front of the National Assembly main building in Yeouido, Seoul on the 13th. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is facing controversy for repeatedly using discriminatory expressions toward people with disabilities, such as 'Jangaewu (障碍友)' and 'normal people,' during an event. The criticism is particularly strong because these problematic remarks were made at a forum discussing welfare policies for people with disabilities, showing a lack of caution in his choice of words.

Experts emphasized that to reduce discrimination against socially vulnerable groups, careful attention must be paid to the words and expressions used.

On the 13th, Yoon attended the launch ceremony of the party’s Central Election Committee’s nationwide relay policy tour for the Disabled Headquarters, titled "Jangmunhyeondap (The answer to disability issues lies in the field)" held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Jangmunhyeondap was established with the purpose of directly listening to and finding answers to issues related to employment, mobility rights, health rights, and cultural enjoyment rights of people with disabilities in the field.

During his encouragement speech, Yoon advised attendees to take good care of their health, but the problem arose when he referred to people with disabilities as 'Jangaewu.' Yoon said, "On this cold day, to check the individual difficulties of our Jangaewu, who are accompanying Representative Lee Jong-seong (People Power Party) on the nationwide policy tour, please take good care of your health so you don’t catch a cold, listen carefully to each person's difficult circumstances, and make sure to convey them to me and the campaign headquarters."

The term 'Jangaewu' means 'friends with disabilities' and was initially used to reduce psychological distance toward people with disabilities. However, since it was coined from the perspective of non-disabled people and cannot be used by people with disabilities themselves, and because it carries a patronizing connotation, its use is socially discouraged.

In 2015, the Ministry of Health and Welfare launched a campaign to improve awareness of people with disabilities, promoting slogans such as "Use 'people with disabilities' instead of 'Jangaewu' or 'disabled person,'" and "Use 'non-disabled' instead of 'general public' or 'normal person.'"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is talking with a representative of the National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities at Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 8th./Photo by Yonhap News

This is not the first time Yoon has made inappropriate remarks related to people with disabilities. Just five days earlier, on the 8th, he referred to non-disabled people as 'normal people' during a meeting with representatives from the Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities, drawing heavy criticism.

The expression 'normal people' is discriminatory toward people with disabilities because calling non-disabled people 'normal' implies that people with disabilities are 'abnormal.' The very act of categorizing disability into normal and abnormal is discriminatory. When Yoon used the term 'normal people,' those around him shouted 'non-disabled' to correct him, and Yoon quickly amended his statement.

The ruling party immediately criticized Yoon, saying he was "hurting people with discriminatory language." Jeon Yong-gi, spokesperson for the Democratic Party’s campaign headquarters, stated, "Yoon’s derogatory remarks toward people with disabilities cannot be dismissed as a one-time slip of the tongue. Repeated derogatory remarks are clear acts of discrimination and cause pain and humiliation to families living with disabilities."

Experts stressed the importance of being cautious with expressions to reduce discrimination against socially vulnerable groups. Kim Ji-hak, director of the Korea Diversity Research Institute, said, "You can tell how a person thinks about people with disabilities by the words they use. Expressions like 'Jangaewu' and 'normal people' indicate a complete lack of consideration for people with disabilities."

He added, "These expressions should not be dismissed as minor mistakes or overly criticized. To eliminate discriminatory views against socially vulnerable groups, one must carefully consider even a single word or expression. Even if he was unaware, I believe he could have thoroughly reviewed precautions before attending an event related to people with disabilities. It is disappointing that he did not show even a small amount of sincerity."

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