"Why Do People with Shorter Futures Get One Vote Each?" Opposition's Kim Eun-kyung Sparks Controversy Over 'Elderly Disparagement' Remarks

Park Dae-chul "Only Considering Political Pros and Cons... Verbal Disaster"

Kim Eun-kyung, Chair of the Democratic Party Innovation Committee, made remarks at a youth roundtable suggesting that voting rights should be exercised in proportion to the remaining lifespan, prompting criticism from the ruling party calling it a "verbal disaster."

Earlier on the 30th, the Democratic Party Innovation Committee held a roundtable with young people in their 20s and 30s at a cafe in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. Chair Kim introduced a past conversation with her son, saying, "My second child just turned 22, and when he was in either the first or second year of middle school, he asked me why older people decide our future."

Kim Eun-kyung, Chair of the Innovation Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, is giving a greeting at the 2030 Youth Roundtable held at a cafe in Seongdong-gu on the 30th. Photo by Yonhap News

Chair Kim said, "I think people should vote in proportion to the time remaining from their current age, considering the average human lifespan," and added, "Why should those with a shorter future have a one-to-one vote?"

The People Power Party criticized Chair Kim's remarks as "elderly disparagement." On the 31st, Park Dae-chul, Chair of the People Power Party Policy Committee, wrote on Facebook, "The Democratic Party's 'elderly disparagement DNA' is showing its head again," and pointed out, "This is a verbal disaster caused by political calculations based solely on advantage and disadvantage." He added, "Calling the elderly 'those with a short future' will only shorten the Democratic Party's future," and said, "It seems the Democratic Party needs to offer a sincere apology."

Shin Ju-ho, Senior Deputy Spokesperson of the People Power Party, said in a statement that day, "Is disparaging the elderly and making reckless remarks the solution to the Democratic Party's plummeting approval ratings and alienation from the youth?" He raised his voice, saying, "This is an attempt to use the easiest and most practiced method of 'divide and rule' without proper diagnosis, and it is an anti-national and anti-constitutional idea that denies the basic principles of democracy."

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