Kim Gi-hyeon, who criticized 'Lee Sang-min's behavior'... "Mentioning dismissal is not appropriate"

Kim Ki-hyun, member of the People Power Party. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Regarding the Itaewon Halloween incident, Kim Ki-hyun, a member of the People Power Party who criticized Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min's remark that "this was not an issue that could have been resolved by pre-deploying police and fire personnel," stated that "mentioning dismissal of the minister is inappropriate."

On the same day, Kim said through his social network service (SNS), "For the sake of a Korea where we live together, I once again urge the cessation of political strife."

Following voices of criticism within the ruling party regarding the minister's remarks, and former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min, considered a candidate for the next party leadership, calling for the minister's dismissal, this appears to be an attempt to check such calls.

Kim said, "This is a period of mourning. It is time for the people to unite their hearts to mourn the victims, comfort the bereaved families' pain, and focus on the speedy recovery of the injured," adding, "The irresponsible behavior of some in the Democratic Party who blame others or spread baseless fake news, which only deepens the trauma of this major accident, must be restrained."

He further emphasized, "It is not desirable to mention dismissal before sufficient cause investigation and responsibility determination have been made," and "As this is a national 'time of mourning,' now is the time to stop criticism and political strife and unite to fundamentally address the root causes of safety negligence."

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