Lee Danbi, Incheon City Council Member, Issues Apology on SNS
"My Fault for Initiating With an Academic Background Slur in the First Comment"
A current member of the Incheon City Council issued an apology after engaging in a heated and explicit argument with a netizen on social networking service (SNS), which sparked controversy.
On June 7, Lee Danbi (37), a member of the Incheon City Council, apologized on her SNS account, stating, "I am sorry for displaying such low-level language and behavior." She also explained the background that led to the disparaging remarks about academic background. Lee said, "I thought we were engaged in a mutual discussion because I had provided an explanation about academic background in an upper-level comment," and added, "Upon checking, I could not find a reply to the upper-level comment, so I withdraw my claim that the comment was made as part of a mutual discussion." Lee further stated, "Ultimately, since the first comment began with an academic background slur, I take full responsibility for what happened on SNS."
Apology statement posted on social networking service (SNS) by Lee Danbi, Incheon City Council member. SNS capture
Previously, on June 5, a man surnamed Cha (40) had a heated argument with Lee on SNS. Cha posted, "Lee Junseok may have a good academic background, but it just means he did better on tests than others. In a democracy, elections are tests. So what are Lee Junseok's test scores in the democratic exam room?" In response, Lee commented, "You don't even have a good academic background, do you? lol," which triggered a verbal dispute between the two.
When Cha replied, "Sigh, I can't believe someone of this level is a city council member," Lee retorted strongly, "Sigh, then how did you live since your teens to end up living like that?" Cha said, "I was shocked and angry at the council member's repeated use of language unbefitting a public official, so I responded harshly, and then she sent me a screenshot as if she had reported me to the police." He added, "In response, I also reported the council member to the police." Cha continued, "I wanted to sound the alarm for common sense and basic decency in the public sector, so I tipped off the media," and added, "I hope public officials would have a proper sense of what their roles mean, and maintain basic common sense and awareness."
Lee told Yonhap News, "I never reported the other party (Cha), whose identity was not even confirmed on SNS, but since he reported me first, I will respond with a false accusation charge." She added, "I explained to the other party that I had mistakenly uploaded the (report receipt) screenshot, but he did not listen." Lee also claimed, "(Before the academic background remarks, Cha) first disparaged the People Power Party in relation to another one of my posts, calling it a 'far-right party.' Then, in Cha's post, there was a disparaging comment to the effect that 'academic background is just something you achieve by studying hard in your teens,' so I asked, 'Is this what the left means by prohibiting discrimination?' and that is how the academic background issue came up." She continued, "If academic background is something to be disparaged, then what qualifies you to criticize whether someone lived diligently in their teens?" and added, "However, all related comments have been deleted, and now it is being said that I only made disparaging remarks, which is absurd."
On this day, Cha told Yonhap News, "I received an apology from Lee and have no personal resentment," but added, "In order to sound the alarm for the public sector, I have no intention of withdrawing my previous petition to the city council requesting Lee's expulsion."
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