Aide to Lawmaker Criticized 'Gimpo-Seoul Incorporation' and Was Dismissed

Facebook and Group Texts Call It "Extreme Localism"
Apology Posted but Dismissed... Aide "Considering Leaving Party"

An aide to a member of the National Assembly from the People Power Party was dismissed from the lawmaker's office after distributing a post opposing the party's official stance on the 'incorporation of Gimpo City into Seoul.'

On the 19th, Representative A's office announced that the aide is scheduled to be dismissed by the end of this month. The aide criticized the incorporation demand on his Facebook post on the 20th of last month, stating, "The demand for Gimpo City's incorporation into Seoul is an extreme form of regional selfishness." He also claimed, "Even though it is obvious that the special law cannot pass, all sorts of special exceptions were inserted," adding, "It is close to mockery beyond deceiving the citizens."

As the proposal to incorporate Gimpo City into Seoul becomes a hot issue, a banner welcoming the incorporation into Seoul is hung on a street in Gimpo City, Gyeonggi Province. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The aide said, "Politics is not just about winning votes," and added, "I await the day when we reflect on the past scheming and return to politics with a sense of shame." It is reported that he sent this critical post via group text messages to many people, including active lawmakers. The text message included a signature at the bottom stating 'Aide to Representative A.'

After belatedly recognizing this, Representative A pointed out that it was problematic for an active aide to distribute content inconsistent with the party's direction via group text messages. The aide admitted the mistake and wrote an apology the following day.

Nevertheless, Representative A judged that the trust relationship with the aide was broken and that they could no longer work together, deciding to dismiss him on the 22nd of last month. However, according to the dismissal notice system, the actual dismissal is scheduled to take place at the end of this month.

Representative A's office stated in a press release, "Posting personal opinions equivalent to the said act on SNS and sending text messages to over 10,000 people," and added, "The dismissal decision is the personnel authority's judgment on an aide who broke the trust relationship in work."

It is known that the aide is considering leaving the party. He had registered as a preliminary candidate for the People Power Party in last year's Gimpo mayoral election but lost in the primary.