Six Lawmakers Demand Compensation and Disciplinary Action
Gwak Sang-do "I Did Not Intend to Belittle"
Four individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and five disability organizations held a press conference in front of the National Assembly main gate on the morning of the 20th, condemning five People Power Party lawmakers?Gwak Sang-do, Heo Eun-ah, Kim Eun-hye, Jo Tae-yong, and Yoon Hee-sook?as well as Lee Kwang-jae of the Democratic Party of Korea for their derogatory remarks, and announced plans for a public interest lawsuit. (Photo by Park Joon-yi)
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] “We are not disposable paper cups used once and thrown away. We are not insignificant beings that members of the National Assembly can treat carelessly.”
Four people with mental and physical disabilities and five disability organizations held a press conference in front of the National Assembly main gate on the morning of the 20th, condemning five People Power Party lawmakers?Gwak Sang-do, Heo Eun-ah, Kim Eun-hye, Jo Tae-yong, Yoon Hee-sook?and Lee Kwang-jae of the Democratic Party of Korea for their derogatory remarks, and announced plans for a public interest lawsuit.
Kim Eun-hye, a People Power Party lawmaker, caused controversy in March during her time as spokesperson by using the phrase “become a mute who has eaten honey.” Heo Eun-ah also criticized the government and ruling party at a National Assembly press conference in February, saying, “I suspect it might be collective schizophrenia.” Other problematic expressions included “schizophrenic” (Yoon Hee-sook, Jo Tae-yong), “lame” (Lee Kwang-jae), and “one-eyed” (Gwak Sang-do).
Kim Kang-won, Director of Human Rights Policy at the Research Institute for the Rights of the Disabled, said at the press conference, “The derogatory remarks by lawmakers toward people with disabilities have hurt the individuals and their families and have become a social issue. They have forgotten their duties and responsibilities as lawmakers, and legal and political accountability must be demanded.”
On the morning of the 20th, Shin Seok-cheol, director of the Songpa Mental Disability Peer Support Center, is speaking in front of the main gate of the National Assembly. (Photo by Park Joon-yi)
At the scene, statements from people with disabilities continued. Jo Tae-heung, a person with a physical disability, said, “Discriminatory remarks about disabilities have been pointed out many times in politics, but they are repeated whenever there is an opportunity. However, people with disabilities are met with excuses that there was no intention to demean.”
Joo Sung-hee, a person with a physical disability, said, “When a single careless remark is used on social media, I cannot help but feel that people with disabilities are inevitably ridiculed. We want a society where no one is hurt and no one hurts others. Once again, as a person with a disability, I strongly demand legal responsibility from the lawmakers.”
The disabled individuals and organizations participating in the press conference announced plans to file a lawsuit claiming 1 million won in damages per person against the six lawmakers. They also plan to request Speaker Park Byeong-seug to exercise disciplinary authority and establish regulations prohibiting insulting remarks against people with disabilities.
In response, Gwak Sang-do, a People Power Party lawmaker and the subject of the lawsuit, explained, “The expression ‘one-eyed’ is often used in poetry and similar contexts. It was intended to tell people not to view the world with prejudiced eyes, not to demean anyone.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
