Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok on the 13th criticized People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo over a harshly worded social media post aimed at President Lee Jae-myung, saying that "those who enjoy this kind of extreme wordplay rarely have long political careers."
Speaking on the Democratic Party's official YouTube program "Minty07," Kim said Joo's remark was "too severe to even be called wordplay." He added, "I have seen very few cases of politicians who enjoy that kind of behavior having long careers, and I would say there are almost none."
On the 12th, Joo left a comment reading "time to cut off Lee Jae's 'myeong'" — a pun combining the president's given name with the Korean word for "life" — on a post written by one of his supporters. The phrase drew controversy because it could be read as referring to ending the president's life.
Kim also said that "when Joo points out problems with others, he is often more guilty of the same things himself." He added, "He points to problems in how others built their wealth, but in his own family, the process by which a grandfather passed a large sum to a young grandson was not transparent. He does not reflect on himself." Kim also criticized the controversy over Joo leaving a hearing room during a parliamentary audit of government agencies to host his own YouTube broadcast, saying, "He does that because he has nothing to say," and that "there are basic standards to observe during a parliamentary audit."
Kim dismissed Joo's criminal complaint against the president on charges of disclosing official secrets, filed over the posting of a confidential document on social media, as "an absurd comedy and irrational." He added, "It was part of publicizing results in the response to voice phishing, and it was written after the meeting ended by the person who had received the briefing, in order to share the situation. Taking legal issue with that is itself beneath the level of serious debate."
Kim also addressed the controversy over the president playing golf on a holiday, saying there were "practical considerations of health management as well as preparation for diplomacy." He noted that "U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to play together."
Kim went on to say that "the National Assembly has become the greatest ethical lawless zone." He added, "If expelling a lawmaker is difficult, I have proposed suspending their privileges for a set period, and we discussed it again in the parliamentary caucus yesterday. I will push forward with restructuring the Ethics Special Committee so that the National Assembly can draw a clear line against conduct that falls outside the constitutional framework, such as remarks denying the Gwangju Democratization Movement."