Kim Woong "Tzyang should be the party leader"
Heo Eun-ah "Because of women's diet"
Shin In-gyu "Jo Su-jin should eat it herself"
As the People Power Party focuses on livelihood efforts to address the decline in party and presidential approval ratings, Jo Su-jin, a member of the People Power Party and chairperson of the party's special committee on livelihood measures called 'Minsaeng 119,' revealed that discussions included initiatives such as 'finishing a bowl of rice' as one of the measures to counter the plummeting rice prices. This sparked criticism from the Lee Jun-seok faction.
On the 5th, Jo stated on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current Affairs,' "The issue of surplus rice is a very painful reality right now. (In Minsaeng 119) we even discussed finishing a bowl of rice," adding, "Many women tend not to eat rice well due to dieting. However, compared to other foods, rice actually has relatively low calories. We need to actively promote this and encourage a shift in public perception."
However, the Lee Jun-seok faction, including former leader Lee Jun-seok, immediately criticized the remarks. Lee Jun-seok wrote on his social media, "If you oppose the Grain Management Act and your alternative is 'women are dieting and therefore not eating rice,' 'let's start a campaign to finish a bowl of rice,' and 'let's inform people that rice actually has fewer calories compared to other foods,' can this really be a competitive alternative? This is getting worse and worse," he criticized.
Rep. Heo Eun-ah also said, "Yesterday, Supreme Council member Kim Jae-won hurt the public's feelings, and today, Supreme Council member Jo Su-jin's gaffe has broken the hearts of farmers since morning," adding, "Rice prices are falling and causing great concern, yet they blame women's dieting and suggest a campaign to eat a bowl of rice. What kind of livelihood solution is this for our country?"
Rep. Kim Woong also commented, "The leadership is 100% focused on eating," saying, "They eat chicken and beer at 4 p.m., gather in the cafeteria in the morning to eat school meals, talk about livelihood issues while eating fried chicken, and now they say let's finish a bowl of rice. If politics is going to be about eating shows, wouldn't it be better for Tzuyang to be the party leader?"
Shin In-kyu, leader of the People Power Party Reform group, said, "At this point, it's not regression but a sign of collapse," adding, "Jo Su-jin, please eat two bowls of rice at every meal yourself. I can't consume much rice because of dieting."
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