Park Yong-jin: "Kim Eun-kyung and Yang Yi-won-young Must Apologize More Clearly"

"혁신위 Must Stay True to Its Core Mission"

Kim Eun-kyung, Chair of the Democratic Party Innovation Committee, became embroiled in controversy over her 'elderly disparagement' remarks, and the situation escalated when Democratic Party lawmaker Yang Yi-won-young added to the comments. In response, Democratic Party lawmaker Park Yong-jin pointed out that "a clearer apology is necessary."

On the 2nd, Park said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "As a member of the Democratic Party, I sincerely apologize for the controversy caused by this incident," expressing his regret.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Previously, Chair Kim had mentioned that her son, when he was in middle school, proposed the idea that "voting should be proportional from age to dawn," and she evaluated this idea as "reasonable." She then sparked controversy by saying, "Why do those with shorter futures have the same one-to-one voting rights?" Although she later expressed regret, she did not apologize. Democratic Party lawmaker Yang Yi-won-young defended her by saying, "Many of those voting now will not even be alive in that future," which also stirred controversy.

The Democratic Party maintains that "the intent of the remarks was not to disparage the elderly," but the controversy has not easily subsided. Park said, "As she herself acknowledges, many people have been hurt by this, and it has caused widespread misunderstanding and controversy among the public," adding, "It would be appropriate to offer a clearer apology on this matter."

Regarding Yang Yi-won-young's remarks, he said, "I believe they were inappropriate comments, and since she thought so too, she probably deleted them," and "She also expressed regret for causing controversy among lawmakers over this issue."

Kim Eun-kyung, Chair of the Innovation Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, is holding a press briefing at the National Assembly on the 12th, explaining the future direction of the Innovation Committee's activities. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

He continued, "It should be clearly conveyed to the public that the remarks were distorted and did not reflect her true intent, and an apology should be offered." A straightforward apology is needed.

This incident has even brought up past gaffes by Chair Kim, raising doubts about the credibility of the Innovation Committee. Park said, "Especially since such controversies keep occurring, it shows that the contents of the innovation are not being well communicated or presented to the public, which ironically causes more controversy over the statements of Innovation Committee members," adding, "I hope they will focus more faithfully on their original mission."

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