Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung and actress Kim Bu-seon (from left). / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] A commotion erupted during the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee’s audit, attended by Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate and Governor of Gyeonggi Province, when an audio recording of actress Kim Bu-seon was revealed, prompting backlash from some ruling party lawmakers.
On the 18th, during the audit questioning, Seo Beom-su, a member of the People Power Party, said, "While watching the audit, someone told me, 'I absolutely can’t stand it anymore,' and asked me to play this," before holding his phone up to the microphone and playing Kim’s voice message.
From Seo’s phone, Kim’s voice was heard starting with, "While watching the audit, I willingly agreed to this interview. I never took Kim Bu-seon lightly," and so on.
This prompted protests from the ruling party side. Park Jae-ho, the Democratic Party’s floor leader, demanded a halt, saying, "You should have informed us beforehand. You can’t just play what you heard recklessly," but Seo continued to play the audio.
Lee expressed displeasure, saying, "Playing this..." and ruling party lawmakers also urged, "Turn off the microphone, microphone." Eventually, Seo said, "Then I’ll just say it," and proceeded to read the transcript.
The message Seo read from Kim included, "While watching the audit, I willingly agreed to this interview. It’s not that I took Kim Bu-seon lightly, but because they think the people of the Republic of Korea are like dogs and pigs, if I lie, the people will be deceived. That reckless, psychopathic, dangerous idea shows how dangerous that person is."
Kim also addressed candidate Lee, saying, "Lee Jae-myung, Jae-myung, you weren’t that kind of person. You’re a bad person. You were such a backward guy. I’m a ghost to you. The things you told me at those moments were the truth. Don’t be pathetic and pitiful anymore."
She added, "I’m giving you a piece of advice for your sake. You told me you were born in the year of the rabbit in 1963. You said you had no organization, no power, no backing, and cried your eyes out saying you couldn’t do politics. Go back to those days and confess honestly to the entire nation like you did to me. Then I will forgive you. Got it?"
After Seo’s reading, Park criticized, saying, "This has nothing to do with the audit," and added, "Take that to the political arena."
Meanwhile, Lee listened to the recording expressionlessly and made no comment regarding the audio.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
