To homeless receiving free meals, "Do you have a job?"... Question from 'Geumsujeo' UK Prime Minister

"Unaware of Common People's Reality and Lacking Empathy," Criticism
Prime Minister Supporters Defend "Attitude of Not Ignoring Opponents"

Rishi Sunak, the British Prime Minister, is facing criticism after a video showing him volunteering at a free meal distribution center and making remarks disconnected from the reality of homelessness went viral.

According to American economic media Business Insider and others, Prime Minister Sunak visited a homeless shelter in London on the morning of December 23 (local time), ahead of Christmas. The controversial scene was captured during his volunteer meal distribution activity, showing a conversation with a homeless person.

When a homeless man receiving food asked, "Are you looking for economic solutions?" Sunak replied, "I am trying."

Sunak then asked, "Do you have a job right now?" This was an awkward question to ask a homeless person who came to receive free meals because they had no way to secure food.

The man responded, "I am homeless," and added, "I am interested in economics and finance."

On October 25th, Rishi Sunak, the UK Prime Minister, delivering a speech after his inauguration in front of 10 Downing Street, London Photo by AFP·Yonhap News

Sunak then asked the homeless man, "So, would you like to work at a bank or financial institution?" The homeless man answered, "Anywhere is fine. For now, I just want to get through this Christmas well."

As the video of this conversation began circulating through the British broadcaster ITV's Twitter account, criticism poured in that the Prime Minister is unaware of the hardships faced by homeless people and ordinary citizens, and there were sighs over his lack of empathy.

Sunak is a politician who previously served as an executive at Goldman Sachs and became Prime Minister in October.

He followed a typical elite path in the UK and is married to a woman from an Indian business family with astronomical wealth, making him a 'silver spoon' politician with assets exceeding one trillion won.

Opposition lawmakers such as Angela Rayner, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, and critics described the situation as "embarrassing" and "bizarre."

On social networking services (SNS), comments criticized the Prime Minister as someone completely unaware of the lives and economic realities of ordinary people.

However, supporters of Prime Minister Sunak defended and protected him, saying his attitude was one of engaging in conversation without ignoring the other person.

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