Kwon Seong-dong: "Park Gu-yong, a Key Figure Carefully Chosen by Lee Jae-myung"
Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, on the 12th called for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, to clarify his position, describing the resignation of former Democratic Party Education Training Institute Director Park Gu-yong?who stepped down amid controversy over his remarks about the 20s and 30s generation that they should be "made to wither away and isolated"?as a "scapegoating" act.
After a party meeting at the National Assembly that afternoon, Kwon told reporters that Park was "a key figure carefully chosen by Leader Lee after much deliberation last fall," making the remarks.
Earlier, in an interview with the Democratic Party's YouTube channel 'Jeongchi Oraksil' (Political Amusement Room), Park criticized the method of absorbing support from the 2030 generation when asked by the host, saying, "It’s not about bringing them to our side, but about how to make them a minority (to be considered)," adding, "They should be made to wither away and be isolated on their own."
Regarding young people who do not support the Democratic Party, he also said, "Thought arises when egos clash, but (the 2030 generation supporting the right-wing) have been completely absorbed into what is right," adding, "There is no thought, only calculation. A healthy ego requires conflicting selves, but this cannot be fixed. Do not hold onto hope."
Kwon raised the level of his offensive, saying, "Leader Lee emphasized that the position of Education Training Institute Director is the 'most important post,' so did they appoint someone with distorted and anachronistic views about the 20s and 30s generation to the most important position and conduct party member education?"
He continued, "The Democratic Party divides youth into those who listen well to them as having a healthy ego, and those who do not move as they wish as targets to be isolated," adding, "Wounds inflicted by a knife heal over time, but wounds inflicted by words never disappear. Don’t think this will end with scapegoating; I hope they clearly state their thoughts on the 20s and 30s generation."
Additionally, the People Power Party Central Student Committee issued a statement saying, "Dividing the people and excluding specific groups is a direct challenge to liberal democracy," criticizing, "The Democratic Party is ignoring young people and running away by cowardly scapegoating Park without an official apology. This is absolutely unacceptable." In a commentary, spokesperson Park Min-young described Park Gu-yong as "indiscriminately criticizing all citizens who do not sympathize with the Democratic Party’s reckless accusations of rebellion," and defined the incident as "a blatant revelation of the Democratic Party’s distorted perception of the 20s and 30s generation."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
