Chung Jom-sig, floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok on the 20th, saying, "Public anger is burning over the tyranny and misrule of the government and the ruling party, and the ruling party leader's parade of abuse of power is pouring fuel on the fire."
Chung made the remarks at a party meeting on parliamentary audit strategy held at the National Assembly, citing Kim's pre-dawn visit to a fire station and the controversy over a halted performance at a regional festival.
Of Kim's visit to the Gangseo Fire Station in Seoul, Chung said, "Firefighters who should have been sleeping and resting in the early morning hours were woken up and gathered together just for a photo op," calling it "a clear abuse of power." On the interruption of a singer's performance at a festival in Sunchang County, he asked, "Is a regional festival a Democratic Party convention hall, or an election campaign rally?"
On Kim's demand that Gyeonggi Governor Chu Mi-ae apologize for her remarks about firefighters, Chung said, "Governor Chu's disparaging remarks about firefighters and Chairman Kim's abuse of power toward firefighters are equally discourteous." He added that "the Chuseok siblings should be begging for forgiveness on their knees, and yet Chairman Kim unilaterally demanded an apology from Governor Chu." Referring to Kim's goal of raising the party's approval rating by 10 percentage points within his first 100 days in office, Chung said, "If he keeps practicing politics the way he does now, it won't be a 10-point rise but a slide into the 10 percent range."
Chung called for the highest level of disciplinary action at the party level against Governor Chu and Democratic Party lawmaker Boo Seung-chan, both of whom drew criticism over remarks about firefighters. The People Power Party said it would form a task force on honoring firefighters' service, built around strengthening the central government's responsibility for firefighting, supporting firefighter safety, and expanding support for the families of firefighters killed in the line of duty.
Chung also criticized former President Moon Jae-in for submitting a petition seeking a verdict of not guilty ahead of the appellate trial in the case of the forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen. Chung described the case as "a homicide in which the state pushed people to their deaths without any investigation or trial," arguing that "the suspended sentence from the first trial must be overturned and a severe punishment imposed."