Hwang Unha bows his head after deleting controversial expression
"Sincerely apologize if it caused any discomfort"
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The controversy over Democratic Party lawmaker Hwang Unha's so-called 'derogatory remarks about Yoon Seok-yeol candidate supporters' is escalating. Although Lawmaker Hwang deleted his remarks and apologized, the opposition parties are criticizing him, calling it "an insult to the people."
On the 28th, Lawmaker Hwang wrote on his Facebook, "Even those who support Yoon Seok-yeol do not know at all what kind of national governance philosophy he has," and claimed, "In fact, Yoon Seok-yeol's supporters, except for about 1% of the vested elite class, are mostly low-educated, impoverished, and elderly."
The opposition strongly reacted to this. They pointed out that these remarks baselessly disparage the support base of Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, and could be interpreted as expressions that belittle the entire electorate.
Kim Yeonju, the standing deputy spokesperson of the People Power Party, released a statement on the 29th, saying, "Lawmaker Hwang Unha made inappropriate remarks about Yoon Seok-yeol candidate supporters and then deleted them," and added, "I am curious on what grounds he divided them into low-educated, impoverished, and elderly groups, and I suspect it is based on his usual beliefs."
She continued, "This goes beyond an intention to belittle the leading opposition party's presidential candidate who currently holds the highest approval ratings; it is an insult to Yoon's supporters and, furthermore, to the people," and criticized, "In a reality where the people's desire for regime change is boiling, how can he create and impose such a frame to disparage the people again?"
Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party (center), is speaking about the formation of the election campaign committee at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 25th. / Photo by Yonhap News
On the same day, Kim Yongtae, the youth supreme council member of the same party, wrote on his Facebook, "Lawmaker Hwang, so what if Yoon Seok-yeol candidate supporters are low-educated or impoverished? Aren't they citizens of the Republic of Korea?" and questioned, "What kind of brain structure could have produced such a baseless and absurd idea?"
He added, "It is disgusting that while shouting for equality and fairness in front, he harbors such thoughts behind."
Oh Hyunju, spokesperson for the Justice Party, also released a statement that day, saying, "The indiscriminate insult inflicted on citizens is not something that can be easily erased," and criticized it as "a comprehensive hate gift set targeting the low-educated, impoverished, and elderly."
Meanwhile, Lawmaker Hwang deleted the phrase "low-educated, impoverished, elderly" from his post on the morning of the same day after the controversy erupted.
He posted another message on Facebook that day, stating, "While rereading my post that was posted late last night this morning, I found some inappropriate parts and have revised them," and added, "The deleted parts have been captured and reported by the media."
He bowed his head and said, "Although the original draft was revised during the editing process, I sincerely apologize if anyone who saw the content overnight felt discomfort in their hearts."
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