Kim Byung-wook "Did BTS Reach the Top by Throwing Money Envelopes and Changing the Rules?"

Regarding the voices within the party calling for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, to break ties with the so-called 'Gaeddal' hardline fandom, Hyun Geun-taek, deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, argued unfairness by saying, "It is like BTS telling ARMY to stop being ARMY." In response, Kim Byung-wook, a member of the People Power Party, raised criticism, stating, "ARMY is not a group that hates someone."

On the 30th, Representative Kim said through his social media (SNS), "BTS did not reach the top of the world by throwing money envelopes or changing the rules," adding, "How dare you compare BTS's achievements and status, earned with bare hands, passion, and fighting spirit, to the Democratic Party of Korea, which is associated with denial and illegality?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Deputy Director Hyun, on the previous day on CBS Radio, regarding the party's internal calls for 'breaking ties with the hardline fandom,' said, "For example, is it possible to tell BTS ARMY to stop being ARMY by looking at BTS?" He explained the relationship between Lee Jae-myung and Gaeddal by comparing it to BTS and ARMY. Although Hyun used the BTS and ARMY relationship as a kind of example, it was deemed inappropriate to use a group with a different nature as a metaphor for the relationship between Lee and Gaeddal.

Representative Kim said, "ARMY is not a group that hates someone but a group that loves and respects BTS. How can you compare a group like Gaeddal, which attacks everyone except themselves with the lowest dignity in the world, to ARMY?" He added, "Don't forget that those in the Democratic Party are not independence activists but suspects."

Democratic Party Representative Park Yong-jin also emphasized the difference from Gaeddal regarding Deputy Director Hyun's 'BTS and ARMY' analogy on CBS Radio that day, saying, "The BTS fandom tries to say many good things rather than attacking others, tries to do good deeds, and are people trembling with fear that their favorite celebrities might get hurt, attacked, or belittled because of their actions."

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