"Youtuber Park Eun-su Opposes 'Depression Due to Hearing Aid Photoshoot... Clear Disability Discrimination'"

Democratic Party Proportional Representation Nomination Rejected
"Requesting All Members to Vote" Backlash

Eunsu Park, a hearing-impaired YouTuber with over 100,000 subscribers, revealed that she reached the final candidate stage for the proportional representation nomination of the Democratic Party of Korea in the 22nd general election but was ultimately rejected. On the 13th, Park shared this news on her Facebook, stating, "I request a full party vote on the candidates in the women, disabled, and youth categories whose decisions were reversed."

A photo taken wearing a hearing aid posted by Eunsoo Park last year. There was controversy over it being provocative in some quarters. [Image source=Facebook]

She explained, "I applied as a proportional representation candidate for the Democratic Party in the women, disabled, and youth categories and was finally recommended by the Proportional Candidate Recommendation Committee after document screening and interviews." She added, "Later, I was recommended as a final candidate within the winning zone, but just before the announcement, I suddenly received a text message notifying me that the decision was rejected during the Supreme Council meeting."

Park also raised suspicions that the sudden rejection in the proportional representation nomination was due to photos she had posted in the past. She emphasized, "Even if my hearing aid pictorial photos, which the party evaluated as provocative, became a disqualification for the proportional representation seat for the disabled, taking and publishing these photos was part of a global human rights movement for disabled women."

She continued, "I still believe that revealing one's disability is the most powerful political act," and claimed, "The Democratic Party Supreme Council's decision not to nominate me as a parliamentary candidate due to the promotional nature of the pictorial photos is clear discrimination against disabled people." She also pointed out, "If women, youth, or disabled candidates running for the Democratic Party have posted photos like body profiles in the past, this will set a precedent as a disqualification reason for nomination."