Taeyoungho: "Lee Jae-myung mocked me as soon as I left... It made my blood boil"

"Fasting is like roughing it outdoors... Fasting while commuting?"
"Democratic Party lawmakers call defectors traitors and betrayers"

On the occasion of the first anniversary of his inauguration, Tae Young-ho, a member of the People Power Party who protested against a Democratic Party lawmaker's 'trash' remark by visiting Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, who is on an 'indefinite fast,' expressed his frustration, saying, "(As soon as I) left, (Lee) sneered and mocked me."

On the 8th, Tae said on BBS's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal,' "This really made my blood boil. I couldn't believe I was hearing such words."

On the 7th, Tae Young-ho, a member of the People Power Party, visited the hunger strike tent of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, set up in front of the National Assembly main building, and was dragged out by Democratic Party members while protesting to Lee. On that day, Tae pointed out the delay in recommending directors for the North Korean Human Rights Foundation during a question session targeting the Minister of Unification in the foreign affairs, unification, and security sector held the previous day. He stated that Democratic Party members verbally abused him with words like "trash" and "red," and protested to Lee. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

During a National Assembly government questioning session, Tae was called "trash from North Korea" by Democratic Party lawmakers. He visited Lee's fasting site to protest but was stopped and pulled away. He recounted the situation, saying, "As soon as I came out, reporters swarmed me, and people came asking how I was, what was said, and if my health was okay, so I couldn't have a single conversation."

He added, "When I tried to express my grievance, the party leader closed his eyes and didn't respond at all. I thought to myself, 'Today is the eighth day; this person must be really exhausted.' But as soon as I left the scene, (Lee) opened his eyes again, and after I left, he mocked me."

Tae expressed skepticism about the sincerity of the fast. He said, "Democratic Party lawmakers came and said, 'Why did you come to a fasting protest site?' But honestly, fasting, as we commonly understand it, is a hunger strike done while enduring harsh conditions. Fasting while commuting back and forth?this is fasting? I still have doubts about this."

He also pointed out the problem with the "trash from North Korea" remark. Tae said, "We think of 'trash' as a rude insult to others. But in North Korea, trash generally means something to be separated and disposed of." He added, "Being called trash in North Korea means you are either executed or must disappear from society."

This means that the 'trash' remark is taken even more seriously by North Koreans. He said, "North Koreans perceive the moment they hear the word 'trash' as the end of their existence in this world." He added, "Among those who defected to South Korea, the highest level of insult from the North Korean Kim Jong-un regime is calling someone trash."

In response to the host's question about whether the expression was used unknowingly, Tae said, "It was not an expression used unknowingly. This is not the first time such language has been used against defectors." He continued, "In the past, a Democratic Party lawmaker also called defectors 'traitors.' Even after entering the 21st National Assembly, Democratic Party lawmaker Moon Jeong-bok called me a traitor and a betrayer, and I posted that on Facebook."

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