Heo Yong-seok, former Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service.
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Controversy has arisen over United Future Party candidate Heo Yong-seok allegedly saying "I am Room 2" to a campaign worker from another party holding a placard criticizing the 'Nth Room case.' The candidate denied the claim, saying, "I do not remember."
The Basic Income Party candidate Shin Min-ju, running in Seoul Eunpyeong-eul, stated on the 10th, "Around 3:20 p.m. on the 9th, at Yeonsinnae Mulbit Park, candidate Heo, who is running in the same district, smiled and made the outrageous remark 'I am Room 2' to a campaign worker holding a placard that read 'Not the Nth Room but prison, we will punish all 260,000 people.'
Shin's camp said, "This is a reckless remark that trivializes the seriousness of the 'Nth Room case,' a collective sexual exploitation video trading case that recorded the highest and largest public petition participation. It was not a joke but a serious misstatement." They added, "The campaign worker who heard the remark directly was stunned and could not understand Heo's words for a while. Only after a few seconds did they guess that he was inserting his candidate number 2 into 'Nth Room'."
On the 10th, Shin's camp visited Heo to demand an apology. A representative said, "Heo said he does not remember."
Earlier, on March 24, during preliminary campaigning, Heo reportedly said after seeing Shin holding a placard related to the Nth Room case, "Thanks to you, I learned for the first time what the Nth Room is." It was said to be the day when the related public petition surpassed 2 million signatures.
Shin criticized, "This incident reveals Heo Yong-seok's usual indifference to women's safety. Heo's words and actions, which do not consider women as citizens, deserve condemnation. If he does not officially apologize, Heo is unfit to be a member of the National Assembly."
In response, a representative from Heo's campaign said, "(Heo) has never met with Shin's campaign workers. This is not true."
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