Cho Kuk: "Scene of being dragged out by Kang Seonghee's bodyguard... Reminds me of North Korea's Jang Song-thaek"

Progressive Party lawmaker Kang Sung-hee was dragged out of the venue by presidential security agents at the launch ceremony of the Jeonbuk Special Autonomous Province held in Jeonju, Jeonbuk on the 18th, sparking mixed reactions from ruling and opposition parties.

Assemblyman Kang Seong-hee of the Progressive Party being restrained by bodyguards
[Photo by Yonhap News]

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Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk wrote on Facebook on the afternoon of the 19th, “Watching the scene where Progressive Party lawmaker Kang Sung-hee was carried out by his limbs reminded me of the scene where Jang Song-thaek, uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was dragged out of a Workers' Party Political Bureau meeting.” Jang Song-thaek, who was the second most powerful figure in North Korea, was expelled from the meeting in December 2013 and later publicly executed.

Kang, the central figure in the incident, held a press conference at the Jeonbuk Provincial Assembly immediately after the launch ceremony of the Jeonbuk Special Autonomous Province, claiming, “I greeted President Yoon at the launch ceremony and told him ‘You need to change the national policy direction,’ but presidential security agents suddenly rushed in, covered my mouth, grabbed my limbs, and threw me out of the venue.”

At the time, even after Kang released President Yoon’s hand, he shouted loudly, “You need to change the national policy direction,” prompting security agents to grab Kang’s arms and legs, cover his mouth, and drag him out of the venue.

In response, Lee Yong-ho, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, issued a statement saying, “A public official like a member of the National Assembly disrupted the celebratory atmosphere for all people of Jeonbuk, interfered with the event, and appeared to use it as a platform for political propaganda and agitation,” adding, “He should first apologize for his rude and unreasonable behavior toward the president.”

People Power Party lawmaker Cho Jung-hoon also described Kang as “rude.”

On the 19th, appearing on YTN Radio’s ‘News King with Park Ji-hoon,’ he pointed out, “Lawmaker Kang Sung-hee was there in his capacity as a member of the National Assembly,” and “He was not there as a member of a general civic group or protester.”

He added, “I am 100% sure that former lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan, who symbolized progressive politics, or former President Kim Dae-jung, who symbolized Honam politics, would not have done such a thing if they had been there as lawmakers,” and criticized, “Why has progressive politics become so unrefined and provocative?”

He continued, “I have been to such events many times, and it is a place to shake hands, exchange eye contact, and pass by,” adding, “But if someone shouts and yells there, the security personnel would naturally be flustered.”

On the other hand, the Democratic Party said in a statement on the 19th, “The presidential office’s act of covering the mouth and dragging out limbs is the attitude of President Yoon Seok-yeol toward the people.” In the statement, spokesperson Kang Sun-woo called it “a shocking incident that could only have happened in a dictatorship era,” and demanded, “President Yoon Seok-yeol should immediately dismiss the head of the security office and apologize directly to the people.”

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