During the roundtable, tears fell and exit when Cho Kuk was mentioned... Kim Nam-guk "Why was it so heartbreaking?"

"Sorry for not being able to stay until the end" Apology
"I don't know why I cried so sadly, why the tears wouldn't stop"

Namguk Kim, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim So-young] On the 13th, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Nam-guk explained that he left during the '2040 Generation Roundtable' hosted by JoongAng Ilbo due to the topic related to former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, saying, "Tears suddenly welled up, and I could no longer continue filming."

On the 16th, Kim posted on his Facebook, "I am truly sorry for not being able to stay until the end of the '2040 Generation Roundtable,'" expressing this sentiment.

Earlier, on the 13th, JoongAng Ilbo held a 2040 roundtable discussion with Kim representing those in their 40s, Eastern philosopher writer Im Geon-sun, Justice Party lawmaker Ryu Ho-jeong representing those in their 20s, and People Power Party spokesperson Im Seung-ho.

Writer Im pointed out, "Through the Cho Kuk incident, those in their 20s have begun to perceive the 586 generation as vested interests just like the industrialization generation."

Spokesperson Im also criticized, "President Moon Jae-in and the Democratic Party came to power after the impeachment crisis under the banner of 'We are better than them.' When expectations are high, disappointments are also great, and through incidents like Cho Kuk and Yoon Mi-hyang, the image that they (the government) are also corrupt and do not apologize seems to have solidified."

In response, lawmaker Kim said, "This goes against the purpose of analyzing the 20s and 40s generations. If the discussion goes like this, I would not have come here," and added, "When political issues like the Cho Kuk incident are discussed, I can only say that the People Power Party is more hypocritical."

He then said, "I did not come here for such a discussion. If so, I will leave," and exited the roundtable. JoongAng Ilbo announced in the video, "Lawmaker Kim Nam-guk eventually left. We ask for viewers' understanding."

Regarding this, Kim stated, "I thought the '2040 Generation Roundtable' would be a comfortable place to talk about the perception gaps and resulting conflicts between the 20s and 40s generations," but lamented, "From the beginning of the roundtable, there was political evaluation of the by-elections, and the discussion continued to focus only on political disputes such as the Cho Kuk incident."

He continued, "I tried to calm myself for about 20 minutes on site, but I could not stop the tears that burst out, and I simply could not calm down. I was truly unable to continue speaking. I do not know why I cried so sorrowfully or why the tears would not stop. It seems it cannot be explained in a single word."