Handonghun, Kim Uigyeom Respond to Mockery of 'Joseon's Number One Tongue' with "Reduce Your Lies"

Park Yong-jin criticizes 'Elementary School Speech' attack
"Swearing and after-parties are the trend in the Democratic Party" criticism

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon said on the 5th that he considered Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Eui-gyeom's recent broadcast interview in which Kim mocked him as "Joseon’s No. 1 tongue" to be a compliment.

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon is responding to a lawmaker's question during the 3rd plenary session of the 405th National Assembly (extraordinary session) on education, social, and cultural issues held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 5th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Minister Han stated this just before attending the National Assembly's government questioning session in the afternoon, saying, "When I was a prosecutor, it was none other than people from the Democratic Party side who called me 'Joseon’s No. 1 prosecutor'." He then addressed lawmaker Kim, saying, "Since you gave me a compliment, let me return the favor by suggesting that if it’s hard to stop lying, it might be good to reduce it a bit."

Regarding Democratic Party lawmaker Park Yong-jin’s criticism of his speaking style as "elementary school level" during a radio interview, Minister Han criticized, "When they are pointed out for their mistakes, they shout, speak in a high-handed manner, interrupt, and try to move on, but after it’s over, they rush to the radio to badmouth me in my absence and hold after-parties. That seems to be a trend in the Democratic Party."

On rumors about his possible candidacy in the general election, such as the "Seoul Songpa-byeong relocation theory," he dismissed them, saying, "I haven’t been to the Songpa district recently," and "The talks about my candidacy are completely unrelated to me." Regarding the court’s dismissal of the arrest warrant for People Power Party lawmaker Ha Young-je, Minister Han said, "I understand that Rep. Ha initially vehemently denied the crime but confessed everything in front of the judge," and added, "I believe the prosecution conducted a fair and thorough investigation."