Seobokgyeong: "I Didn't Know Kim Eunkyung's Remarks Would Cause Such Controversy"

Kim Eun-kyung, the Innovation Committee Chair of the Democratic Party of Korea, has sparked controversy over remarks perceived as 'elderly disparagement.' However, Seo Bok-kyung, a member of the Innovation Committee, stated that "I did not think it would cause such controversy," clarifying that there was no intention to disparage the elderly in Chair Kim's comments.

On the 2nd, Seo said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that "Chair Kim mentioned that her child’s comment was expressed as 'I see that you might think that way,'" explaining the situation.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, on the 30th of last month, Chair Kim shared at a youth roundtable that her child, when in middle school, said, "Voting should be proportional from one’s own age to dawn, then from the mother’s age to dawn," and she evaluated this statement as "very reasonable."

This was interpreted as agreeing with her child's remark, sparking the 'elderly disparagement' controversy. However, Seo clarified that Chair Kim did not agree with her child's comment. Seo explained, "It was more like 'I see your point,' rather than 'You are right,' meaning 'I can see how you might think that way.' She said it was that kind of expression."

He added, "I was present at that moment, and I explained, 'You might see it that way, but democracy operates on one person, one vote, so reality does not work from your perspective.' The expression 'reasonable' was meant as 'I can see how you might think that way,' that kind of meaning," he said.

Although Chair Kim expressed regret over the controversy, she did not apologize. When asked by the host whether expressing regret suffices as an apology, Seo responded, "Just saying it doesn’t seem to be enough. If the listeners continue to find it unacceptable," leaving room for a possible apology if the controversy persists.

The People Power Party has intensified its offensive by referencing past remarks disparaging the elderly by Jeong Dong-young, former leader of the Uri Party. In response, Seo said, "Our chairperson is almost 60 years old, so if older citizens feel offended, that is something we must address. But the People Power Party’s comments have their own intentions," he countered.

Seo himself has been involved in controversy over a slip of the tongue. Last month on SBS Radio, when asked if the Innovation Committee was a 'shield' for Lee Jae-myung, Seo replied, "I don’t think that’s a wrong view," which sparked debate within the party. Seo said, "I ask people not to see it that way," adding, "It’s not about whether we are protecting or not; the context of my remarks was that institutionally, under the current Democratic Party system and leadership, we have no choice but to create innovation plans," he explained.

Within the non-Myeong (非明) faction, there are calls that evaluating the 'Lee Jae-myung system' should come first for innovation. Seo responded, "There are various opinions, so I take that as one of them, but it’s vague," adding, "What we announced last time was a kind of evaluation, but some do not recognize it as such and say that evaluation must continue."

When asked whether the evaluation of Lee Jae-myung’s leadership refers to the extent of his responsibility and whether the upcoming general election will be fought under his system, Seo said, "It seems so," but drew a line by saying, "That is not within the scope of the mandate we have now."

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