Jokyungtae "Rough, Excessive, and Insulting"
Hong Junpyo "Dongtak Emerges in Yeouido"
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, directly clarified his remarks four days after criticizing the media as "the prosecution's pet dog," but the controversy has not subsided. The ruling party launched a full-scale attack, calling it "a behavior that clearly shows the reckless dominance and arrogance of the major opposition party."
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 17th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
On the 19th, Cho Kyung-tae, a member of the People Power Party, appeared on BBS's 'Ham In-kyung's Morning Journal' and said, "These days, the National Assembly seems to be producing quite rough and excessive remarks," adding, "No matter what, is it acceptable for the leader of the main opposition party to call the media a pet dog?"
Rep. Cho pointed out, "The term 'pet dog' can be considered an insulting remark depending on how it is heard," and said, "Expecting the media to report only favorably for themselves is a very wrong act."
He continued, "The media always has the function of criticizing and proposing alternatives," and evaluated, "The public will likely find it hard to understand the current display of a flawed view of the media by (Leader Lee)."
On the same day, Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, posted on his Facebook under the title "Leader Lee Jae-myung must stop the bulletproof broadcast rampage," claiming, "He criticizes the media that reports unfavorable facts about him as 'pet dogs,' effectively privatizing and controlling the media as his personal broadcast."
Regarding the previous day’s unilateral passage of the 'Broadcasting 3 Acts' and the amendment bill for the establishment and operation of the Korea Communications Commission, attended only by opposition party lawmakers and forwarded to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, he said, "It is a desperate struggle to escape Leader Lee's judicial risks through bulletproof media," emphasizing, "It should be firmly discarded through the exercise of the president's constitutional veto power (reconsideration request)." The Broadcasting 3 Acts collectively refer to amendments to the Broadcasting Act, the Korea Broadcasting Culture Promotion Foundation Act, and the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act, which were returned to the National Assembly and discarded last session following President Yoon Seok-youl's reconsideration request.
Hong Joon-pyo, mayor of Daegu, also mocked Leader Lee's "prosecution's pet dog" remark on his Facebook, writing, "Dongtak has appeared in Yeouido."
Mayor Hong said, "The public opinion says that winning the general election does not justify such reckless dominance, but a modern-day Yeouido Dongtak has emerged who targets politicians, judges, prosecutors, public officials, and journalists opposing his will for destruction and manipulates the National Assembly at his whim," warning, "That won't last long. Dongtak, who once dominated a nation, disappeared like dew under Yeoppo's blade."
The controversy over Leader Lee's "pet dog" remark was triggered during his appearance at a trial on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act on the 14th. At that time, Leader Lee was additionally indicted in connection with the Ssangbangwool Group's North Korea remittance suspicion case, and two days later, in front of the Seoul Central District Court, he told reporters, "The media, instead of reporting the truth, are eagerly distorting and manipulating the information they receive as if they were the prosecution's pet dogs."
Meanwhile, as the controversy grew, Leader Lee directly attempted to clarify through his Facebook the day before, stating, "If I failed to clearly express that the problem lies with some media due to time constraints and caused a misunderstanding that I was criticizing the entire media, that is my shortcoming and I regret it," and added, "My remarks made a few days ago at the court pointed out the actual pet dog and guard dog behavior of some media."
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