Concerns Over 'Daughter of the Wild' Estrangement Requests, But Warnings Against Demonization Remain

Conflicting Views Surrounding the Democratic Party's Gaeddal
Pro-Myeong vs Anti-Myeong, Factional Rivalry Emerging

As the non-Myeong (非明) faction demands that Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, sever ties with the so-called 'Gaeddal,' a strong fandom, voices cautioning against the 'demonization' of Gaeddal are also emerging. The situation has become delicate recently after it was revealed that the sender of an abusive text message, which Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Won-wook publicly shared as being from Gaeddal, was not actually a party member.

On the morning of the 24th, Democratic Party Supreme Council member Seo Eun-sook pointed out at the Supreme Council meeting, "One Democratic Party lawmaker publicly introduced a text message they received and concluded that the sender was a Gaeddal party member, that is, a fervent supporter related to the party leader. However, the Ethics Inspection Team's investigation revealed that the sender was not a party member."

Park Kwang-on, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking while looking at Lee Jae-myung, the party leader, at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 24th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Earlier, Lee Won-wook had shared on his social media service (SNS) a text message containing derogatory terms and insults aimed at the non-Myeong faction, such as 'subak' (watermelon), saying, "Can we consider someone who sends messages like this a proud Democratic Party member, Representative Lee Jae-myung? After seeing this, don't you want to cut ties with the strong fandom?" He thus concluded that the sender of the abusive message was a Gaeddal member.

However, the investigation revealed that the sender was not a party member. Supreme Council member Seo criticized, "They must clarify on what grounds they concluded that the sender was a Gaeddal party member, a fervent supporter related to the party leader, and demanded that the party leader sever ties with Gaeddal."

Seo added, "Everyone can have different opinions and assert their views. However, one should not demonize others simply because of differing opinions. Problems arise the moment one harbors the intention to demonize and attack others within the party." This is a critique that the non-Myeong faction is excessively demonizing Gaeddal.

However, some believe that even if the sender of the message was not a party member, the harm caused by Gaeddal cannot be overlooked.

On the same day, in SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' Lee said, "Initially, since I had the phone number, I investigated and found out the sender was not a party member. Does that mean we should just stop addressing this issue because they are not a member? Even if I don't publicly reveal the text messages, if you look at the Facebook pages of the so-called 'subak' lawmakers, you can see how much harm they are causing."

Seo Eun-sook, Supreme Council Member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 23rd and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

On the 22nd, when Supreme Council member Ko Min-jung expressed self-reflection at the Supreme Council meeting, saying, "Regarding the coin incident, we were neither agile nor resolute," her SNS was flooded with comments from strong party members such as "I am shouting 'subak'," "Why are you so desperate to stab us in the back like this?" and "Former Blue House member Ko must be a spy."

The Democratic Party has concluded that the abusive text messages sent to Lee Won-wook were from external forces and has stated its firm stance to respond decisively to this 'divide-and-conquer' tactic.

Spokesperson Park Sung-joon said in a written briefing that, "As the saying goes, 'Conservatives fall due to corruption, and progressives fall due to division,' this divide-and-conquer tactic is an old repertoire used to attack the progressive camp. While free expression of opinions within the party is fully guaranteed, we will respond firmly to abusive language, false information, and divide-and-conquer tactics by external forces."

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