Criticism of "Bangtan Dansik"... Controversy Over Tae Young-ho's Visit
Opposition: "Not Humane to Those Suffering from Fasting"
In the Past, Blue House and Ruling Party Leaders Requested to Stop Fasting
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, faced chaos at the tent in front of the National Assembly main building where he was on a hunger strike. This occurred after Tae Young-ho, a member of the National Assembly, strongly demanded the expulsion of a lawmaker who criticized him and visited the site, followed by the People Power Party's plan to hold a seafood tasting event in front of the National Assembly Communication Hall on the 8th.
On the 7th, the eighth day of Lee's hunger strike, Tae visited the hunger strike site and told Lee, "Democratic Party lawmakers made harsh remarks calling me 'trash from North Korea,'" and demanded, "The leader should take responsibility, expel them from the party, and strip them of their parliamentary seats."
The remarks Tae took issue with were made during a National Assembly government inspection session. When Tae said, "The political forces using the Fukushima contaminated water discharge as a political opportunity are practically the Workers' Party of North Korea, the Communist Party of China, and the Democratic Party of Korea," harsh language such as "Trash from North Korea has come" was heard among Democratic Party lawmakers.
As Tae continued to protest to Lee about this, Democratic Party members responded, "How can you do this to someone who is on a hunger strike?" leading to chaos at the hunger strike site.
The Democratic Party views the visit by opposition lawmakers to protest to a long-term hunger-striking opposition leader as inappropriate.
In the past, when politicians from other parties went on hunger strikes, it was common for government officials or ruling party leaders to visit to offer comfort or request the hunger strike be stopped. For example, during the 2016 hunger strike of Lee Jung-hyun, leader of the Saenuri Party, the Blue House Senior Secretary for Political Affairs and Democratic Party leader Choo Mi-ae visited, and during the 2018 hunger strike of Kim Sung-tae, floor leader of the Liberty Korea Party, Democratic Party floor leaders Woo Won-shik and Hong Young-pyo visited to request an end to the strike. This contrasts with the current situation.
Currently, the People Power Party is mocking Lee's hunger strike, calling it a "bulletproof hunger strike" (Lee Cheol-gyu, Secretary-General) and "attention-seeking DNA" (Kim Ki-hyun, leader).
Adding fuel to the fire was People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Byung-gil's promotion of the party's "Our Seafood Tasting Event." Scheduled for 11 a.m. on the 8th, the event, co-hosted by the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives and the Korea Federation of Fisheries Entrepreneurs, was to be held just 100 meters from Lee's hunger strike tent. On the 7th, Ahn posted on social media, "(The promotional event) location is 100 meters next to Lee Jae-myung's hunger strike tent. I hope the leader stops by to try our mackerel and abalone. There's nothing to be embarrassed about."
The ruling party has since changed the event from a tasting to a promotional event. Since the venue was rented and preparations were made before Lee's hunger strike, cancellation was difficult, so the change was made to avoid criticism for mocking the hunger strike.
The Democratic Party strongly criticized the event. On the 7th, lawmaker Jeon Yong-gi said on social media, "Since the Yoon government no longer communicates properly, the People Power Party belittled the hunger strike by calling it a fake hunger strike, and now they say they will even hold a mukbang next to the hunger strike site," adding, "I wonder if they are 'Ilbe in suits'."
Jeon said, "I still recall the shameless people who held mukbangs at the hunger strike site, which gives me a headache, but I never imagined seeing such mockery again in the National Assembly, the hall of public opinion. It seems they have given up on being human beyond political attacks."
Lee Sang-min, a member of the Democratic Party who has been urging the hunger strike to end, pointed out that Tae, the first ruling party member to visit the hunger strike site, turned the scene into chaos.
On the 7th, on KBS 2TV's 'The Live,' Lee said, "What is the Presidential Office doing? Those people should come to offer words of comfort, and leader Kim Ki-hyun should hold hands at times like this to show the public a united front to alleviate concerns," adding, "Instead, they sent Tae. It is difficult to avoid moral criticism when someone visits on the eighth day of a hunger strike, when the person is in considerable pain and suffering, and says those things."
Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Doo-kwan noted, "In the past, it was common for the President's Senior Secretary for Political Affairs or the Chief of Staff to visit." On the 8th, on YTN radio, Kim said, "It is somewhat embarrassing to the public," adding, "While we need to solve people's livelihood issues, political change also means making people feel at ease, but because the ruling and opposition parties fight fiercely with factional logic, even we politicians feel embarrassed and we are truly sorry to the public."
There was also criticism from within the ruling party. Former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok said on 'The Live,' "If I were the leader, regardless of the reason, I would not have approached Lee in a confrontational way while he was on a hunger strike," and criticized, "If there are disagreements, they should be officially protested and negotiated through the opposing party's floor leader, but going to someone on a hunger strike to demand expulsion is off the mark."
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