Jeong Seong-ho "Kim Eun-kyung, Politics Is Not That Easy... Yang Yi-won-young's Remarks Are Inappropriate"

Kim Eun-kyung, Chair of the Innovation Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, sparked controversy over 'elderly disparagement' after saying at a roundtable, "Why should those with a short future vote one-on-one?" In response, Jeong Seong-ho, a Democratic Party lawmaker known as a 'pro-Myeong (친명) leader,' pointed out that it was a wrong statement, saying, "Politics is not that simple."

On the 2nd, on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' Rep. Jeong criticized her remarks, saying, "She is a former university professor. It might be easy to comment and criticize from outside, but politics is not that simple."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, at a youth roundtable held on the 30th of last month, Chair Kim conveyed that her child, when in middle school, said, "Voting should be proportional based on one's own age to the remaining lifespan, then from the mother's age to the remaining lifespan," and she evaluated this statement as "very reasonable." This was interpreted as agreeing with her child's words, sparking controversy over 'elderly disparagement.' The Innovation Committee explained that it was an expression of "It could be thought that way," not an agreement.

However, Rep. Jeong pointed out that quoting her child's words clearly had the potential for misunderstanding. He said, "We must consider the feelings of the entire nation, and looking at the full statement in context, I see no intention to disparage the elderly or seniors. However, it must be recognized that quoting her child's words clearly had the potential for misunderstanding."

He added, "In that sense, quoting such words itself shows the thoughts you held, doesn't it? It could be misunderstood that way," and said, "I believe she was wrong enough on that point. Rather than debating this further, since she has apologized, and the Innovation Committee also acknowledges it was a wrong statement, it would be better to settle this and move on."

The Democratic Party's Innovation Committee said the day before that Chair Kim's remarks "were not something to apologize for," and Kim only expressed regret during an 'Incheon Citizens Dialogue' that evening.

Amid the controversy over Chair Kim's remarks, Yang Yi-won-young, a Democratic Party lawmaker, also defended her via social media, saying, "Many of those voting now will not even be alive in that future," which sparked further controversy. Rep. Jeong criticized this as a "very inappropriate remark." Yang later edited her post to remove the phrase, "Many of those voting now will not even be alive in that future."

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