Jeong Cheong-rae: "Is Kim Eun-kyung's remark ageist? The media is overinterpreting"

Kim Eun-kyung, Chair of the Innovation Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, sparked controversy over alleged 'elderly disparagement' after saying at a roundtable, "Why should people with a shorter future vote one-on-one?" Jeong Cheong-rae, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, rebutted by calling it an "excessive interpretation by the media."

On the 1st, Jeong said on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' "Boys, be ambitious. Youth, have ambition. This is to give courage to young people, to encourage a spirit of challenge and to pioneer the future," expressing this view.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, on the 30th of last month, Chair Kim introduced her son's opinion during a roundtable with young people in their 20s and 30s at a cafe in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, saying, "From one's age to the remaining lifespan, from a mother's age to the remaining lifespan, voting should be proportional," and added, "Isn't that quite reasonable?"

She then stated, "In democratic countries, 'one person, one vote' is a practical difficulty but a correct principle," and sparked controversy by saying, "Why should people with a shorter future vote one-on-one?"

However, the Democratic Party holds the position that this is an overinterpretation by the media. Supreme Council member Jeong raised his voice, saying, "Why single out only the youth for such remarks? Why not say that to the elderly? To pick a fight and make it seem like this is only for the youth is not right," adding, "Isn't that so? Isn't it?"

Regarding recent talks between Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung and former leader Lee Nak-yeon, known as the 'Myeong-Nak meeting,' which reportedly yielded no significant results, Jeong dismissed it as "media play," saying, "When they meet, they just have the obvious conversations. Let's fight together against the ruthless Yoon Seok-youl prosecutor dictatorship regime. Let's unite and win the general election. Would they say anything else like 'Let's not fight the Yoon Seok-youl regime' or 'Let's divide and lose the election'? Of course not. So they had the obvious talks, but then the media says there's nothing special, nothing at all." He emphasized this was also an overinterpretation by the media.