Emergency for the Democratic Party over the 'Amkeot' Myth... Calls for a 'Disciplinary Committee' Within the Party

Hong Ik-pyo "Wrong Regardless of Reason"
Yoon Young-chan "Disciplinary Committee Must Be Held"
Jung Sung-ho "Must Apologize and Exercise Restraint"

Following the controversy over the 'youth disparagement banner,' the Democratic Party is facing increased verbal scandal risks as former Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Kang-wook's remark about 'female animals causing a ruckus' has sparked backlash, prompting the party to take action. The party's floor leadership expressed the need to discuss disciplinary measures, while the non-Myeong faction raised their voices, demanding that a disciplinary committee be convened.

On the 22nd, Hong Ik-pyo, the Democratic Party floor leader, responded to a question from the host of BBS's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal' about whether the party would take strict disciplinary action by saying, "I think it is necessary, but that needs to be discussed," adding, "In any case, it was a very inappropriate remark, and regardless of the reason, it was a wrong statement."

Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Kang-wook is entering his office at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 18th. On the same day, Choi was sentenced to lose his lawmaker position by the Supreme Court for issuing a false internship certificate to the son of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Former lawmaker Choi made the controversial remark on the 19th at lawmaker Min Hyung-bae's book concert, criticizing the Yoon Seok-yeol administration by saying, "In George Orwell's Animal Farm, female animals rarely come out and cause a ruckus," which sparked controversy. In response, Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung indicated disciplinary action by stating, "We will respond strictly without tolerance to inappropriate language and behavior."

However, there is still no decision on specific disciplinary measures. Floor leader Hong said, "We need to discuss (disciplinary action). We have not had concrete discussions on that yet." Park Joo-min, the party's senior deputy floor leader, told CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "The reports about the severity of the remarks only started yesterday, and since the party's unified stance was announced yesterday, discussions on subsequent measures are expected to begin now."

Within the party's non-Myeong faction, there is criticism that the leadership's response to previous 'verbal controversies' has been limited to warnings, and they are calling for the party to convene a disciplinary committee. Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Young-chan, who participates in the non-Myeong faction group 'Principles and Common Sense,' said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "The secretary-general issued a stern warning, but in our party, such warnings have mostly been verbal," adding, "The party should obviously convene a disciplinary committee."

Although leader Lee ordered a 'strict response without tolerance,' the problem is that no actual disciplinary actions have been taken regarding past verbal scandals or controversies. Lawmaker Yoon said, "In the case of Kim Nam-guk (an independent lawmaker), if we had responded strongly at an early stage, we might have extinguished the fire quickly, but it eventually went to the Ethics Committee, and it was the Democratic Party that blocked the expulsion decision at the Ethics Committee," adding, "Therefore, these issues should not end with words but must be followed through with action to properly establish party discipline."

Jeong Seong-ho, a Democratic Party lawmaker known as a pro-Lee Jae-myung faction leader, also pointed out on YTN's 'News King Park Ji-hoon' that "No matter how much one explains their true intention, it was a very inappropriate expression and should not have been used," adding, "He should apologize and exercise restraint." He appears to be wary of the increasing risk of verbal scandals ahead of the general election. He said, "There have been several cases where a single word changed the course of the general election. It is difficult for me to speak about incidents within our party, but we really need to be careful," adding, "The public is watching the attitude and dignity of lawmakers more than anything else."

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