[Summary] Woo Sang-ho "The Biggest Regret of My Life"... Reexamining the 'Saechunyeon NHK' Incident

Drinking at a nightclub on the eve of the May 18, 2000
Controversy arose over insults to former lawmaker Im Su-gyeong
Woo Sang-ho: "I have lived with the awareness that I am not a great person"
"My entire life will be judged by the citizens"

Woo Sang-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea running in the Seoul mayoral by-election, is giving a greeting at the '2021 Seoul Mayor Election Policy Dialogue' held on the 8th at Mir Media in Mapo-gu, Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Attention is once again focused on the so-called 'Saechunyeon NHK' incident, which caused controversy when some politicians held a drinking party at a nightclub on the eve of the May 18th anniversary in 2000. When former People Power Party lawmaker Lee Eonju, who is running in the Busan mayoral by-election, mentioned the incident, Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Sang-ho, who attended the drinking party at the time, confessed, "It is the thing I regret most in my life."

The incident was brought up again during a verbal exchange between Rep. Woo and former Rep. Lee. On the 8th, Woo criticized Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, and former Rep. Lee, saying, "They are political migratory birds who have wandered through every party," and added, "People like them should be expelled from politics this time."

In response, on the following day (the 9th), former Rep. Lee wrote on his Facebook, "On the eve of the May 18th anniversary, which the Democratic Party sanctifies as a symbol of the democratization movement, activist politicians held a wild drinking party at a karaoke bar, inviting female hostesses," and mentioned the Saechunyeon NHK incident, saying, "One of them is now running as a candidate for the mayoral by-election caused by sexual harassment."

Lee Eon-ju, preliminary candidate of the People Power Party who declared candidacy for the Busan by-election / Photo by Yonhap News

He then targeted Rep. Woo, saying, "It is an act of disrespect to the people that Woo Sang-ho, who showed a shameful disgrace that is embarrassing even to mention, is running in the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections caused by sexual crimes within the Democratic Party."

Regarding this, Rep. Woo wrote on Facebook the same day, "This candidate attacked me over an incident that happened 21 years ago," and explained, "I sincerely apologized to the public at the time and have apologized multiple times to the parties involved."

However, he added, "It was the thing I regret most in my life, and it is a memory that acts like an arrowhead embedded in my body, preventing me from acting rashly," and confessed, "I have lived with the awareness that I am not such a great person, and I was able to become more humble based on that mistake."

He emphasized, "I will be judged by the citizens based on my entire life."

The Saechunyeon NHK incident occurred on May 17, 2000. On the eve of the May 18th anniversary, so-called '86 Group' politicians, including Rep. Woo, held a drinking party at a nightclub named 'Saechunyeon NHK' in Gwangju, accompanied by female hostesses, causing a scandal.

Woo Sang-ho, a preliminary candidate from the Democratic Party of Korea running in the Seoul mayoral by-election, is shouting "Youth Fighting" at the on-site meeting "Youth, Together with Woo Sang-ho" held in front of the red periscope at Sinchon U-Plex, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 9th. / Photo by Yonhap News

In particular, Rep. Woo was reported to have verbally abused former Democratic Party lawmaker Lim Soo-kyung at the time, sparking a morality controversy.

Former Rep. Lim, who witnessed their drinking party, revealed in a post on an online community, "As I was about to greet the seniors and leave regardless of whether there were hostesses or not, someone grabbed my neck from behind and cursed at me," and stated, "I don’t want to believe it, but the person who said this was Woo Sang-ho."

She added, "People sitting nearby told Woo Sang-ho to apologize, but he never did," and lamented, "Throughout his remarks, words like 'this damn woman,' 'that damn woman,' 'this X,' and 'that X' were continuously heard."

As the controversy grew, the attendees of the nightclub issued a press release under the name "Young Chairpersons who visited Gwangju," stating, "We believe no one can be held responsible for this incident. We speak frankly and sincerely apologize," but also clarified, "However, we want to point out that there are considerable exaggerations that could cause misunderstandings."