Jin Joong-kwon: "Which pilot would kick out a woman mid-flight?"... Lee Jun-seok criticizes 'gender division'

Lee Jun-seok "Only people who have never flown talk"

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party (left), and Jin Jung-kwon, former professor at Dongyang University. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, mentioned the "Hudson River Miracle" in response to accusations of "gender division responsibility," but former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon criticized him again.

Earlier, on the 11th, Lee posted on his social media with a photo related to the 2009 US Airways emergency landing accident, writing, "'Why didn't you just turn back and attempt to land at LaGuardia?' 'If we had tried, it would have worked.' 'We tested it on a simulator.' Usually, people who are not qualified to sit in the cockpit say things like this."

The accident occurred in 2009 when a plane that took off from LaGuardia Airport in New York collided with a bird, damaging the engine. At that time, the captain demonstrated ingenuity by making an emergency landing on the Hudson River, miraculously saving the lives of all 150 passengers. However, after the incident, the captain faced prolonged responsibility debates through investigations and public hearings about why he did not return to the airport.

In response, former professor Jin shared Lee’s post and pointed out, "People who have never flown say things like this. Which pilot would chase female passengers out of the aircraft mid-flight to reduce weight?" and added, "To ascend, you pull the yoke and push the throttle."

It appears that Lee’s post was intended to justify his election strategy of rallying young men while alienating women in their 20s and 30s, and that criticism of this strategy is legitimate.

Photo by Jin Joong-kwon, Facebook capture

On the previous day (the 10th), Professor Jin also appeared on CBS Radio's "Hanpan Seungbu" and stated, "This incident should lead to the expulsion of Lee’s behavior of dividing the 2030 generation, especially men and women in their 20s, from politics. Lee must be held strictly accountable for this."

He continued, "They barely won what should have been an easy victory, and if the election had lasted one or two days longer, it would have been a loss," and argued, "Abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and strengthening false accusation laws are not normal ideas."

Meanwhile, with President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol narrowly winning the 20th presidential election on the 10th, criticism of Lee’s election strategy, including gender division, has been raised both inside and outside the party.

Kim Jae-won, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, said on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae’s Focus" the previous day, "When approaching gender issues, wasn’t there a lack of effort to approach young women more softly? I thought this is something we need to reconsider in our election strategy process."

Former People Power Party general election committee chairman Kim Jong-in also appeared on an MBC radio program that day and pointed out, "Looking at the election results, the gender conflict issue completely split the votes. Men in their 20s voted for the winner, while women in their 20s voted for Lee Jae-myung. If you insist on abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family unconditionally, it could exacerbate this conflict."

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