Conflict over 4·15 Election Recount Theory and 'Young Male Drinking' Remarks
Lee Jun-seok "Told to Devise Strategy, Yet Ended Up Equipping Fraud Allegations"
Kim Min-jeon (right), Co-Chair of the People Power Party Central Election Countermeasures Committee, is on the move to attend the meeting on the 30th of last month / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Kim Minjeon, co-chairman of the People Power Party's joint election countermeasures committee, engaged in a verbal dispute with party lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung over last year's April 15 general election recount and derogatory remarks about young men in their 20s. In response, party leader Lee Jun-seok criticized, saying, "Are they going to antagonize people in their 20s and even adopt claims of election fraud?"
On the afternoon of the 2nd, Kim revealed in a post on his Facebook that he recently had a phone conversation with lawmaker Ha. Previously, at a committee meeting on the 30th of last month, Kim had mentioned, "The 2020 general election recount also showed a regression in democracy, and it was not conducted properly." In response, Ha called him and argued, "The reason the recount did not proceed was because former lawmaker Min Kyung-wook refused to pay the 200 million won fee and held out."
Kim stated, "I checked with the lawyer in charge of the recount lawsuit, and they said Ha is mistaken," adding, "Why try to prevent recount discussions by spreading false information? In a democratic society, any issue can be raised and verified."
Chairman Kim questioned Rep. Ha Tae-kyung of the People Power Party on his Facebook post on the 2nd, asking, "Why are you trying to stop the recount remarks by spreading false information?" / Photo by Kim Min-jeon, Facebook capture
The verbal dispute between the two did not end there. On the 29th of last month, Kim claimed in an interview with YTN Radio, "Male students drink before going to the military and their grades suffer. After returning from the military, they struggle to adapt to school and their grades still suffer."
In response to Kim's remarks, lawmaker Ha wrote on Facebook, "Professor Kim's derogatory remarks are as outrageous as writer Yoo Si-min's 2018 statement that 'male students are addicted to soccer and computer games and thus cannot study well,'" demanding, "Apologize immediately."
He continued, "I always thought Professor Kim had a balanced perspective, but I am greatly disappointed," emphasizing, "As candidate Yoon's support among young people continues to decline, reckless remarks like these only add fuel to the fire. The election committee should also warn Professor Kim about these comments."
Kim responded on the 2nd, targeting Ha, saying, "Perhaps you have no idea how much male students drink before enlisting because you haven't served in the military."
He added, "Both my students and my son drink quite a lot before going to the military," and said, "As a mother of a son and daughter in their 20s and a teacher who instructs both female and male students at school, I am angry about the lack of jobs for people in their 20s."
As the conflict between Kim and Ha deepened, party leader Lee shared Kim's post on Facebook that day and criticized, "Now, on top of everything, they are adopting claims of election fraud and saying that men in their 20s drink so much that their grades suffer," adding, "When told to come up with an alternative strategy instead of the generational encirclement theory, now they just want to antagonize people in their 20s."
Meanwhile, Kim was appointed co-chairman of the People Power Party's joint election countermeasures committee at a closed supreme council meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 27th of last month. At that time, it was reported that leader Lee publicly opposed Kim's recruitment, citing Kim's past support for the female quota system in columns and his appearance on the conservative YouTube channel 'Garosero Research Institute,' where he advocated election fraud theories.
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