Ha Tae-kyung "Lee Jun-seok In-yo-han Racism? Excessive Framing... Simple Misunderstanding"

Former leader Lee Jun-seok referred to In Yo-han, the Innovation Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, who came to his lecture in Busan as 'Mr. Linton' and expressed his refusal to meet in English. This has sparked criticism within the political circle, labeling it as 'racial discrimination.' In response, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, defended Lee, stating that the racial discrimination frame is excessive.

On the 6th, Ha said on his social media service (SNS), "It is excessive to accuse former leader Lee of racial discrimination just because he responded to Chairman In in English," adding, "It was a mistake stemming from the misconception that he would be better at English than Korean."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Ha emphasized, "As former leader Lee himself revealed, he used English to convey an accurate message to Chairman In," and "He thought English would be more comfortable for Chairman In than Korean."

He added, "When I asked Chairman In which language he was more comfortable with, English or Korean, he said writing was better in English, but speaking was better in Korean," and "In that sense, former leader Lee did not necessarily have to speak in English. It was merely a mistake born out of misconception. Criticizing him for having racial discrimination intent because he spoke in English to communicate more precisely is inappropriate."

Earlier, on the 4th, former leader Lee expressed refusal in English to Chairman In, who came to his lecture venue and requested a meeting. However, this was pointed out as treating Chairman In, who has lived in Korea for four generations, has been engaged in education and medical activities, and was recognized for his contributions as the 'first special naturalized citizen,' as a foreigner.

Voices of criticism also emerged in the political sphere. Kwak Dae-jung, spokesperson for the new party 'New Choice,' expressed regret on SNS, saying, "Our country is a multiethnic nation. If you did not use the official language for someone who has become a member of the nation and specifically used 'your ethnic language' only for that person, if you insisted on doing so, wouldn't that be a kind of racial discrimination?"

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