The spokesperson of the People Power Innovation Committee: "It is shocking that the Senior Citizens Association slapped someone who was apologizing in front of them"

"Chairman Kim's 'Son' Remark Was a Joke"

Kim Ho-il, chairman of the Korea Senior Citizens Association, was criticized by Kim Nam-hee, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, for slapping Kim Eun-kyung, Innovation Committee Chair of the Democratic Party, who came to apologize for her 'elderly disparagement' remarks. Kim Nam-hee called the incident "somewhat shocking." She also stated that the mention of Kim's son, which sparked the 'elderly disparagement' controversy, was a "joke."

On the 4th, on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' Spokesperson Kim said, "It was somewhat shocking to see a slap in the face of someone who came to apologize," and added, "I felt it would have been better if the elder had shown a more generous attitude."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the previous morning, on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' Spokesperson Kim expressed a reserved stance, saying, "First of all, the apology was conveyed, but we will discuss further regarding the official apology," but Chair Kim expressed her intention to apologize during the morning.

In response to the host's question, "There were reports that the atmosphere was not apologetic until yesterday morning," she said, "That is not true. It was already decided to apologize at that time," adding, "I thought about it overnight."

Immediately after Chair Kim's remarks became problematic, the Innovation Committee issued a statement calling it "generation division, an old-fashioned frame that views everything politically, and a typical divide-and-conquer tactic." When asked if they still maintain this position, Spokesperson Kim said, "We do think it is generation division," adding, "It is appropriate to apologize for the expression, but it was never our claim or argument to disparage any generation. In fact, it was a joke."

She further added, "Before the debate, the youth mentioned that a child said such things, but in fact, this is an impossible story, and since it was said that way, it was not intended to promote such policies or imply that such policies exist."