Paek Hyunjin Deletes Child's Photo After Refusing to Remove It

Photo of User’s Family Posted During Heated SNS Exchange
Picture Removed Amid ‘Child Rights Violation’ Controversy

Paek Hyunjin, a member of the People Power Party, has come under fire for posting a photo of a child, who is not a public figure, on her social media account. It has been confirmed that she has since deleted the controversial photo.

Paek Hyunjin, a member of the People Power Party and chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Party Committee, is delivering a New Year's address on the 14th at the 2026 People Power Party Seoul Metropolitan Party Committee New Year's Meeting held at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 29th, Paek deleted the child’s photo from her Facebook page without any further explanation. This comes four days after she became embroiled in controversy over ‘child rights violations’ for posting a family photo of an ordinary person during an argument in the comments section on social media.

On the 25th, Paek posted on Facebook regarding the withdrawal of the nomination of Lee Hyehoon, a former candidate for Minister of Planning and Budget. Paek wrote, “It has been confirmed that Lee Hyehoon tracked and spied on the Jungseong-dong district, which was her former constituency, through an insider,” adding, “If any form of retaliation is taken against the People Power Party members in Jungseong-dong who assisted in the vetting process, the Seoul Metropolitan Party Committee will not stand by.”

Hyeonjin Bae, Member of the People Power Party, Facebook.

However, when a user commented, “You should just stay quiet,” Paek responded, “You come to my Facebook and speak so rudely,” sparking a heated exchange.

Paek then posted another reply, saying, “You hang up a photo of your child and leave malicious comments,” and uploaded a photo of a child, presumed to be a family member of the user, without any mosaic or blurring. Since the user arguing with Paek appeared to be a middle-aged man, there was speculation that the child in the photo could be his granddaughter.

Afterwards, mocking comments targeting the child began to appear on Paek’s social media.

Some raised concerns that this could be a violation of the child’s portrait rights and human rights. However, Paek did not immediately take any action or issue an explanation. On the 28th, when a reporter at the National Assembly asked, “Do you have any intention of taking down the child’s photo?” Paek was seen leaving with a smile, without giving a clear answer.

Meanwhile, Paek has yet to make an official statement regarding the issue.