Danbi Lee, Incheon City Council Member, Engages in Heated SNS Exchange with Netizens
"Don't you even have a good academic background?" Sparks Controversy
Apologizes, but Calls for Expulsion Spread and Is Reported to Police
Danbi Lee (37), a member of the Incheon Metropolitan Council from the People Power Party, has been reported to the police after engaging in a heated and provocative argument with netizens over academic background and other issues on social networking services (SNS). On June 9, the Citizens’ Committee for Public Livelihood filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, stating, “Council member Lee’s inappropriate conduct, including posting highly provocative comments, constitutes defamation and a violation of the National Public Service Act.”
The organization argued, “The extremely inappropriate behavior of the accused is a serious matter that cannot be resolved with a simple official apology,” adding, “It is a catastrophic incident that damages the dignity required of a public official and insults the citizens of Incheon. It is so absurd and shameless that it is an outrage against common decency.”
On June 5, Council member Lee engaged in a heated exchange on SNS. At the time, a netizen identified as Mr. Cha posted, “Lee Junseok may have a prestigious academic background, but it just means he did better on tests than others. In a democracy, elections are a test. So what are Lee Junseok’s test scores in the arena of democracy?” In response, Council member Lee commented, “You don’t even have a good academic background, do you? lol.” When Mr. Cha replied, “It’s absurd that someone of this level is a city council member,” Council member Lee retorted, “So, how did you live your life since your teens to end up like that?”
Regarding this, Mr. Cha told Yonhap News, “I was shocked and angry because the public official kept making such low-level remarks, so I responded harshly. Then, Council member Lee 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. I wanted to sound the alarm for common sense and basic decency in the public sector, so I informed the media. I hope public officials will understand what their role is and maintain a sense of responsibility and basic common sense.”
On the other hand, Council member Lee stated, “I never reported the other party (Mr. Cha), whose identity was not even specified on SNS, but since I was reported first, I will respond with a counter-accusation for false reporting. I explained to the other party that I had uploaded the (report submission) screenshot by mistake, but he did not listen.” She further claimed, “Mr. Cha had previously disparaged the People Power Party as an ‘extreme right-wing party’ in response to another one of my posts. Then, in Mr. Cha’s post, there was a derogatory comment implying, ‘Academic background is just the result of studying hard for a short period during your teens,’ so I asked, ‘Is this what the left calls a ban on discrimination?’ That is how the academic background issue came up.”
She also explained, “If academic background is considered something to be disparaged, I was asking what qualifies you to criticize whether someone worked hard in their teens. However, all the related comments were deleted, and now it is being said that I only made derogatory remarks, which is absurd.”
In addition, it was reported that Council member Lee exchanged other heated comments with netizens on SNS, such as, “In the end, you can’t win with logic, you pest lol,” and “It’s okay lol, do you think this XX (a derogatory reference to the president) will last a year in office? lol Just watch closely lol.”
Subsequently, posts demanding Council member Lee’s expulsion appeared on the Incheon Metropolitan Council website, further fueling the controversy. In response, on June 7, Council member Lee apologized, saying, “I am sorry for displaying low-level behavior.” She stated, “I thought I was engaged in a mutual discussion about academic background in the upper-level comments. Upon checking, I could not confirm the replies to the upper-level comments, so I retract my claim that the comments were part of a mutual discussion.” She added, “Since the first comment started with an academic background slur, I acknowledge that everything that happened on SNS was entirely my fault.”
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