Hong Ik-pyo: "Regarding Choo's son compared to An Jung-geun... He apologized and corrected it, so that's enough"

Yeo: "Choo Mi-ae's Son Personally Exemplifies Ahn Jung-geun's 'Devotion to the Nation'"
Jo Hae-jin: "Democratic Party Faces Issues Due to Overzealous Defense"

Hong Ik-pyo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Budget, Settlement, and Fund Review Subcommittee of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee on April 28th / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Amid controversy sparked by the Democratic Party of Korea comparing the son of Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, Seo Mo (27), who is embroiled in allegations of 'special leave' during his military service, to the independence activist An Jung-geun, Democratic Party lawmaker Hong Ik-pyo stated, "This is no longer an issue to be escalated."

On the 18th, Hong appeared on YTN Radio's 'Start New Morning' and said, "The party's floor spokesperson Park Sung-joon apologized and revised the spokesperson's statement," adding this was the reason for his comment.

He continued, "Even within the party, it was seen as inappropriate. If they had stubbornly insisted on it, that would be one thing, but since they apologized and revised the statement, I think it’s better to acknowledge that and not turn it into further political strife."

He also pointed out, "Kim Jong-in, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, also compared the Gaecheonjeol rally to the March 1st Movement," adding, "That was very inappropriate, but we don’t say 'Chairman Kim should resign' because of it."

Hong said, "The expressions related to An Jung-geun by our party and the way the media reports these issues tend to be more sensational, often raising problems over a single word," and expressed, "I hope people would consider the context of politicians’ words."

He added, "Globally, political rhetoric has become much stronger. However, in the US or Europe, such remarks do not become major issues in the media," and said, "I do not think the way Korean media handles these matters is appropriate."

Joining the discussion, People Power Party lawmaker Cho Hae-jin criticized, "Politically, it seems the Democratic Party is causing more problems by trying too hard to defend Minister Choo and Seo," and said, "When straightforward explanations don’t work, they resort to analogies, but analogies actually make things more difficult."

Cho continued, "You need to understand the content of the analogy accurately and whether it fits the situation, but they keep making mistakes with analogies, causing repeated problems," and added, "So, I think it’s best to just say 'if it’s true, it’s true,' or 'if not, it’s not,' as it is."

Earlier, on the 16th, the Democratic Party faced public backlash after issuing a statement mentioning An Jung-geun’s words in relation to the allegations surrounding Seo.

Park Sung-joon, the party’s floor spokesperson, said in the statement, "The opposition party has seriously damaged the honor of military personnel who fulfilled their duty through fake news," and claimed, "Seo has personally embodied An Jung-geun’s words that 'It is the soldier’s duty to dedicate their body for the country' (위국헌신군인본분·爲國獻身軍人本分)."

Park added, "Government questioning sessions, which should focus solely on people’s livelihoods, have been repeatedly derailed into hearings about Minister Choo’s son, and today’s confirmation hearing for Defense Minister nominee Seo Wook is also being used for baseless political strife regarding Minister Choo’s son," and stated, "The clear fact is that Minister Choo’s son took sick leave during his service to undergo knee surgery while fulfilling his duties as a soldier."

He further emphasized, "Amid the severe domestic and international situation due to escalating US-China tensions and COVID-19, it is neither reasonable nor productive to exploit the Defense Minister’s confirmation hearing as a battleground for political strife," and urged, "The People Power Party should not use our military as a tool for political conflict."