Park Ji-hyun's First Meeting at Party Assembly... Seol Hoon Says, "I Don't Know Your Face Well, Please Take Off Your Mask"

Laughter Erupts in Audience
Park Ji-hyun, Emergency Committee Chair, Leaves Podium Without Responding

Park Ji-hyun, Co-Chair of the Emergency Response Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Policy Members' General Meeting held at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 31st of last month. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Park Jihyun, co-chair of the Emergency Response Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, attended her first party caucus meeting on the 31st of last month, 18 days after joining the committee. At this meeting, Representative Seol Hoon of the same party reportedly asked her to remove her mask, expressing a desire to "see her face."

At the National Assembly Budget and Accounts Special Committee policy caucus that day, Co-chair Park said, "This is the first time I have met and greeted all Democratic Party members in one place," adding, "I was honestly quite bewildered at first because of the heavy responsibility, but thanks to the help of many members, I am enduring well. I am grateful."

As Co-chair Park was about to leave the podium after her speech, voices came from the members' seats saying, "I don't really know your face," and "I want to see you without a mask. I really don't know." These remarks were made by Representative Seol Hoon, who was sitting in the very back row on the first floor of the meeting hall at the time.

In response to Seol's remarks, Lee Sujin, the Democratic Party floor spokesperson who was managing the caucus, asked, "You don't know her face?" Seol replied, "Yes, I would like to see it," adding, "I think it would be fine if she just took off the mask for a moment."

The scene during the Policy Lawmaker General Assembly held at the National Assembly / Photo by Yonhap News

Laughter broke out among the seats following Seol's comment. One member pointed a smartphone at Seol and said, "It's all here, it’s on Naver." The floor spokesperson Lee dismissed the comment by saying, "We saw her a lot during the election," and Co-chair Park quietly stepped down from the podium without saying anything.

Seol’s remarks were intended to express a desire to become familiar with Co-chair Park’s face since he had never met her in person. However, some expressed concern that the comment could be interpreted as relating to her appearance. Nonetheless, it was reported that no particular objections were raised at the caucus meeting that day.

Meanwhile, in her speech that day, Co-chair Park argued that those responsible for the real estate policy failures during the Moon Jae-in administration should be excluded from future party nominations. The day before, she had made the same claim but faced criticism from some within the party who said, "It is unclear who exactly should be held responsible for the policy."

Co-chair Park emphasized, "There may be members with different opinions, but no one would disagree that one of the decisive reasons for the presidential election defeat was the real estate vote. This is the last chance. There is a need for an urgent awareness that if we do not change, we will all perish."

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