Sim Sang-jung on the 'Im Miri Incident': "The Ruling Party Reveals Narrow-mindedness Towards the Freedom to Oppose"

Justice Party leader Sim Sang-jung is holding a New Year's press conference at the National Assembly on the 21st of last month. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Shinwon Yoon] Sim Sang-jung, leader of the Justice Party, criticized the Democratic Party of Korea for "blatantly revealing its narrow-mindedness regarding the freedom to oppose" in relation to the backlash it faced after filing a complaint with the prosecution against Professor Im Miri of Korea University, who wrote a column titled "Everyone Except the Democratic Party."

At the executive committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 17th, Sim said, "It was the right decision for the Democratic Party to withdraw the complaint against the professor and the media outlet, but despite this, the apology has not been clear, and the controversy continues as they emphasize Professor Im’s political background."

Earlier, the Democratic Party had filed a complaint against Professor Im, who wrote the critical column, and the editor of the Kyunghyang Shinmun who published it, but withdrew the complaint on the 14th following public criticism. However, the Democratic Party sparked further controversy by mentioning that Professor Im was formerly the executive director of 'Naeil,' a think tank of Ahn Cheol-soo, the founding chairman of the People’s Party.

Regarding this, Sim said, "This criticism of the Democratic Party is not because they were unaware of Professor Im’s political background or because they support her position. It is due to the Democratic Party’s narrow-mindedness toward the freedom to express opposition. The public demands that the Democratic Party demonstrate a firm commitment to this freedom beyond partisan logic."