According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, a string of blunt statements by People Power Party lawmakers Kim Tae-gyu, Lee Jin-suk and Joo Jin-woo prompted open concern inside the party on October 14. Party leaders cite freedom of expression and have taken no special action, while the Democratic Party is pointing to leadership responsibility.
The Kyunghyang Shinmun reported on October 14 that the statements and conduct of People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers Kim Tae-gyu, Lee Jin-suk and Joo Jin-woo have been generating controversy day after day. The three are described as a ‘new hardline faction’ aimed at the party’s most committed supporters, and criticism from inside and outside the party arrived all at once this week. When party colleagues went on radio and called it ‘very regrettable, embarrassing before the public and something to apologize for,’ the matter became an internal problem for the opposition.
광고 문의 · 300×250The Hankook Ilbo reported on October 13 that parts of the governing camp were labeling the trio the ‘three unfilial siblings,’ and it also relayed a reading that the Democratic Party, struggling in the polls, may be seeking to rally its base through external attacks. In other words, the dispute mixes the propriety of the remarks themselves with political calculation on both sides. What follows separates reported facts from each side’s claims.
The remarks and conduct at issue
On September 30, Kim Tae-gyu appeared on JTBC’s YouTube program and, asked whether the Chun Doo-hwan military takeover amounted to insurrection, answered that he did not think so and that more historical evaluation was needed. According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, the Democratic Party said it would push a resolution calling for his discipline or expulsion. Critics point to the 1997 Supreme Court ruling that upheld Chun’s insurrection conviction and life sentence.
Lee Jin-suk was criticized for hosting a forum in August with a group that has disparaged the May 18 Democratic Uprising, and on October 10 she visited the graves of President Lee Jae-myung’s parents and claimed the president had violated the Farmland Act. That claim is hers alone and has not been confirmed by an investigation or a court. Joo Jin-woo, criticizing the film Assassin(s), called the actor Yoo Hae-jin ‘North Korean-style,’ and on October 12 he left the comment ‘time to cut off Lee Jae-myung’ under a supporter’s post on Threads.
YTN reported that Joo explained the comment as meaning the government is effectively finished over the so-called ‘emperor golf’ controversy and that the president should be impeached, and he countered by citing President Lee’s past ‘sister-in-law insults’ controversy. The Democratic Party called the comment a vicious remark that jokes about the president’s life, demanded his resignation and said it would consider a complaint to the National Assembly ethics committee. With explanation and criticism pointing in opposite directions, the question of intent is left to readers and to any ethics process.
Self-reflection inside the party, silence at the top
According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, Rep. Seo Ji-young told KBS Radio the situation was ‘very regrettable, embarrassing before the public and something to apologize for,’ while adding that the Democrats should also examine their own language before using the word ‘unfilial.’ Rep. Bae Hyun-jin said on CBS Radio that the temptation of sensational rhetoric grows in hard times, but that building political stature on issues the public will dismiss is shortsighted. A non-leadership lawmaker who asked not to be named said politics aimed only at hardline supporters has pulled the party’s language and agenda away from ordinary voters.
Leadership has avoided a public response. The Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that party leader Jang Dong-hyuk and other leaders have not commented on the three, and floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik said at an audit-season briefing that, given individual lawmakers’ freedom of expression, the caucus is taking no special action. One leadership figure reportedly said the rise of the new hardliners has made Jang look relatively centrist-conservative and that, having come from the hardline camp himself, he has no reason to restrain them.
Democratic Party floor leader Han Byung-do said the repeated remarks and eccentric behavior are the responsibility of PPP leadership. Because the row overlaps with the parliamentary audit season, it is likely to be used as ammunition in the partisan standoff. The things to watch are whether the discipline resolution and ethics complaint are actually pursued, and whether internal self-criticism changes the leadership’s stance.