Ahn Cheol-soo: "Lee lay as if dead after scratching his neck in Busan"... Opposition backlash: "Mocking a horrific crime"

Ahn Cheol-soo Voices Discontent Over Lee Jae-myung's Dialogue with Harari Without Follow-up on AI Debate
Mention of 'Lee Jae-myung Busan Assault Incident' Draws Strong Objection from Democratic Party's Jeon Yonggi

On the 19th, Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, expressed disappointment over Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, planning a dialogue with former professor Yuval Harari, saying, "The AI (artificial intelligence) debate should happen with me first." During this process, Ahn mentioned Lee's past assault in Busan, describing him as "lying as if dead after having his neck scratched," which sparked strong backlash from the opposition.

On the same day, Ahn referred to the dialogue between Lee and former professor Harari on social media, saying, "Honestly, it is unexpected and disappointing." He explained, "When controversy grew over Lee's K-NVIDIA remark, he proposed a public debate on AI with the People Power Party. We readily accepted and left the time and place to Leader Lee, but there was no response afterward."

Yonhap News

He also did not hide his displeasure over the news of the dialogue between Lee and former professor Harari being announced without further discussion of the public debate. Ahn said, "Choosing a dialogue with a world-renowned scholar after backing out of the public debate he himself proposed is very similar to Lee’s behavior in Busan?lying as if dead after having his neck scratched?contrasted with President Trump, who, despite being shot and bleeding, shouted 'Fight.'"

Ahn repeatedly expressed his willingness to debate with Lee, but the opposition strongly opposed his reference to the Busan assault incident.

Jeon Yong-gi, a Democratic Party lawmaker, wrote on social media, "Have you given up being human?" and said, "This is absolutely unacceptable." Regarding expressions like "scratched" and "lying as if dead" in relation to the Busan assault incident, he criticized, "A horrific crime involving stabbing a person's neck occurred, and the victim barely survived at the brink of life and death. Can such mocking descriptions be called the language of a politician?"

Jeon said, "Such remarks are not mere slips of the tongue," and pointed out, "They are outrageous statements lacking respect for human beings and forgetting even the basic ethics before politics."