Ryu Sam-yeong "Typo Due to Busy Election Schedule"
Ryu Sam-young, the Democratic Party candidate running for the Seoul Dongjak-eul district in the April 10 general election, has faced criticism for repeatedly misstating the name and rank of Marine Corps Corporal Chae, who died in the line of duty while searching for missing persons during heavy rain.
On the 16th, Ryu posted on his Facebook about the opening of his campaign office, writing, "I will never forget the Itaewon disaster victims' families, the victims of the charter incident, and the case of the late Private Chae, and I will actively work to support socially marginalized groups and address the climate crisis." This appears to be a mistake, as he referred to Corporal Chae as "Private" and his rank as "Private" instead of "Corporal."
Ryu Sam-yeong, the Democratic Party candidate running in Dongjak-eul, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]
On the 17th, Ryu corrected the phrase to "Corporal Chae," but repeated the error, and later that day, he revised it again to include Corporal Chae's real name as "Chae ○○ Corporal" to rectify the mistake.
Criticism from the political sphere followed. Joo Isaac, the full-time deputy spokesperson of the Reform Party, released a statement titled "Candidate Ryu Sam-young, Chae Sang-byeong is not a person's name." He said, "Candidate Ryu wrote on his SNS that he would never forget the 'Private Chae case.' Later, upon receiving reports that something was wrong, he hastily changed 'Private Chae' to 'Corporal Chae.' This was confirmed." He sarcastically added, "'Is this like 'Yoo Sang-moo Sang-moo'? How can you say you won't forget something you don't even know properly?"
Na Kyung-won, the People Power Party candidate running against Ryu, also appeared on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus" that day, saying, "Since he is new to politics, he seems to make quite a few mistakes," and criticized, "He mentioned an incident that should not be forgotten but wrote 'Private Chae' and then 'Corporal Chae,' changing it several times, which was hard to understand."
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, visited Namseong Four Seasons Market on the 13th with Ryu Sam-young, a candidate running for Dongjak-eul in Seoul, greeting citizens. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Choi Hyun-chul, spokesperson for the People Power Party's Central Election Committee, also commented the previous day, saying, "Candidate Ryu does not even know Corporal Chae's real name properly, yet he cited the incident as his reason for entering politics, which is simply astonishing." He added, "Having served in the police for over 30 years, it seems he rushed into politics and may have fabricated his political entry story."
He continued, "If such a person becomes a member of the National Assembly, it would be no different from the second Kim Nam-guk lawmaker, who claimed Professor Lee Mo was 'Lee Mo' during Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon's confirmation hearing."
Netizens also reacted negatively to Ryu's remarks. Comments included, "You could have just searched the name on your phone before writing; it seems he wasn't interested," "Is this 'Lee Mo' season 2?" and "It doesn't seem sincere." However, some comments suggested, "Isn't it possible to make a mistake?"
In response, Ryu explained the incident as a "typo mishap." On MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus," he said, "During the busy election process, I was writing in the car, so a typo occurred," and asked for understanding, saying, "Since I didn't write the name and was unclear about whether it was Corporal or Private, it was a typo mishap."
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