Kwon Youngguk: "We will return it in kind"
Reform New Party: "No Candidacy for Drunk Driving, Serious Crimes, or Abusive Remarks"
Lee Junseok, leader of the Reform New Party, and Kwon Youngguk, leader of the Justice Party. Lee Junseok Kwon Youngguk Facebook
The Reform New Party has put forward the "No ㅇㅈㅁ Candidacy" principle for next year's June local elections, a phrase whose initials are reminiscent of President Lee Jaemyung's name. In response, some members of the ruling bloc criticized it as "childish" and argued for a "No ㅇㅈㅅ" policy in return. While both sides created slogans based on Korean initials, the political community interprets them as targeting President Lee Jaemyung and Lee Junseok, leader of the Reform New Party.
On December 16, the Reform New Party announced in a press release that it would completely exclude from nomination in next year's local elections any candidates with a history of "drunk driving," "serious criminal convictions," or "record of abusive remarks," under its "No ㅇㅈㅁ Candidacy" principle. Although the name is formed from the initials of each principle, the ruling bloc pointed out that it appears to be a direct reference to President Lee Jaemyung's initials.
In response, Kwon Youngguk, leader of the Justice Party, wrote on his Facebook page, "How long will you continue with such childish politics?" and countered, "We will return it in kind. I propose a 'No ㅇㅈㅅ Candidacy' principle."
Kwon further added, "This principle calls for the swift expulsion of politicians who consistently make statements discriminating against races, immigrants, people with disabilities, or who engage in sexist or sexually violent remarks, by processing petitions for their removal from the National Assembly." Like the Reform New Party's nomination principle, this slogan is also formed from initials, but in practice, it matches the initials of leader Lee Junseok, indicating a direct rebuttal.
This appears to specifically call out Lee Junseok's controversial remarks related to sexual violence and his history of discriminatory comments against people with disabilities during the presidential campaign. In the past, Lee sparked controversy in a televised presidential debate with what became known as the "chopsticks remark," and a public petition calling for his removal from the National Assembly gathered over 500,000 signatures. He also drew criticism from disability rights advocates after condemning the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD) for their subway protests demanding mobility rights for people with disabilities.
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