About a month before the 22nd general election, when a 'controversial remark' arose, including referring to It? Hirobumi, the first Governor-General of Korea under the Japanese Resident-General Government, as a 'talent,' Han Dong-hoon, the Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, immediately issued a 'warning order.' It is analyzed that he quickly engaged in crisis management to prevent the issue from escalating.
Seong Il-jong, the ruling party secretary of the National Defense Committee, spoke to reporters outside the National Assembly National Defense Committee audit hall held at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 10th, discussing the disruption of the audit. The meeting could not even begin as the opposition Democratic Party members placed pickets on every seat demanding the withdrawal of the appointment of Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, and the People Power Party refused to enter the audit hall. Photo by the National Assembly Press Corps
On the 5th, Chairman Han sent a text message to key party officials and confirmed candidates, saying, "Please be more careful to prevent inappropriate remarks ahead of the general election. Let's be especially cautious not to make wrong analogies or examples." This warning order was issued after People Power Party lawmaker Seong Il-jong became embroiled in a controversial remark. At a scholarship award ceremony of the Seosan Scholarship Foundation on the 3rd, Lawmaker Seong said, "When the United States forced Japan to surrender by force, five young men applied for scholarships from the provincial government, saying they would study abroad in the United Kingdom," adding, "Legally, scholarships could not be given, so the finance director left the safe door open, and the young men took the safe and went to the UK. One of them was It? Hirobumi." Furthermore, he added, "(It? Hirobumi) was a figure who brought about a terrible situation on the Korean Peninsula but was a precedent of nurturing talents before us," which sparked controversy.
The People Power Party has a 'trauma' from the 21st general election, where it suffered a crushing defeat due to controversial remarks. Hwang Kyo-ahn, the leader of the Future United Party, the predecessor of the People Power Party, said at a broadcaster club debate before the election, "Judgments about people who entered the Nth room out of curiosity can vary." This was criticized for trivializing the Nth room case, which caused nationwide outrage due to the production and distribution of sexual exploitation materials. Hwang lost to Lee Nak-yeon, the Democratic Party candidate, with 39.97% of the vote in Jongno District, Seoul.
Some candidates were even expelled due to controversial remarks. Cha Myung-jin, who ran in Bucheon City B district, Gyeonggi Province, became the center of controversy by saying, "Moon Jae-in is a communist." In 2019, he also sparked a 'bereaved family disparagement controversy' by saying to the Sewol ferry victims' families, "You are so annoying." When the party expelled him, Cha claimed, "They are framing me with controversial remarks," and even stated that the Sewol ferry victims' families should apologize. However, the court nullified the party's expulsion, allowing Cha to run in the general election, but he was defeated. At that time, the Future United Party won only 84 seats in constituencies, suffering a crushing defeat.
The progressive camp also struggled with controversial remarks in general elections. The so-called 'elderly disparagement remark' by Jeong Dong-young, chairman of the Uri Party, in 2004 is a representative case. The Democratic United Party, the predecessor of the Democratic Party, also suffered from controversial remarks. In the 19th general election in 2012, the Democratic United Party presented a united progressive front by unifying candidates with the Unified Progressive Party. However, Kim Ji-yoon, a young proportional representative candidate of the Unified Progressive Party, compared the Jeju naval base to a 'pirate base,' which alienated moderate voters. Kim ranked 4th out of 5 in the youth proportional representative candidate selection primary and was eliminated.
Kim Yong-min, who gained popularity as a panelist on the podcast 'I Am a Trickster' and ran in Nowon-gu Gap, Seoul, in the 19th general election, faced difficulties after it was revealed that he had frequently used controversial remarks and profanity on internet broadcasts in the past. In 2004, he appeared on an internet broadcast and said, "Let's remove all escalators and elevators so that elderly people cannot come to Sicheong Station," which was criticized as disparaging the elderly. Kim also lost to Lee No-geun of the Saenuri Party. The Democratic United Party also failed to see effects such as the impeachment movement against the Lee Myung-bak administration and won only 106 seats in constituencies. Professor Park Myung-ho of Dongguk University's Department of Political Science said, "As the general election approaches its final stage, sudden variables like controversial remarks have a significant impact on the outcome. Crisis management is crucial."
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