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🇰🇷 South Korea /Conflict & Security

Democrats Criticize Ruling Party's 'Loss of Reason' Over Martial Law Remark

From Hankyoreh · (34m ago) Korean Critical tone

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • The Democratic Party criticized a remark by People Power Party lawmaker Cho Kyeong-tae, who stated that the 'December 3rd emergency martial law was wrong.'
  • Democratic Party spokesperson Park Ji-hye called Cho's statement 'common sense' and criticized the ruling party's internal conflict as a sign of losing reason.
  • The party urged the People Power Party to reflect on its past actions and restore basic common sense and morality.

The Democratic Party has seized upon a statement by People Power Party lawmaker Cho Kyeong-tae, who dared to call the controversial 'December 3rd emergency martial law' wrong, to highlight what they perceive as the ruling party's descent into irrationality. Cho's assertion, made at a campaign event for Busan mayoral candidate Park Hyeong-jun, was met with jeers and protests from supporters of another faction within the party, a reaction the Democratic Party spokesperson, Park Ji-hye, decried as "the naked side of the first opposition party that has lost its reason."

Cho's statement is common sense, and this is the naked side of the first opposition party that has lost its reason.

— Park Ji-hye, Spokesperson for the Democratic PartyReacting to the internal conflict within the People Power Party after lawmaker Cho Kyeong-tae criticized the declaration of martial law.

Park framed Cho's statement not as an isolated incident but as a symptom of a deeper malaise within the People Power Party. She argued that the party's intolerance for even a modicum of self-reflection regarding actions that pushed the nation to the brink is deeply troubling. The spokesperson questioned the party's commitment to conservative values and constitutional integrity, asking if common sense has become an object of expulsion within their ranks. This internal discord, she suggested, disqualifies the party from being entrusted with the nation's future.

Is common sense now an object of expulsion in the People Power Party?

— Park Ji-hye, Spokesperson for the Democratic PartyQuestioning the ruling party's internal dynamics and their stance on basic principles.

The Democratic Party's sharp criticism serves a dual purpose: to condemn the People Power Party's perceived lack of accountability and to bolster their own image as the voice of reason and constitutionalism. By labeling Cho's statement as 'common sense,' they implicitly align themselves with a more rational and principled approach to governance. The party's demand for the People Power Party to apologize and 'restore common sense and morality' is a clear political maneuver aimed at capitalizing on the ruling party's internal divisions and historical controversies, particularly concerning the legacy of martial law.

Go home quickly if you are chanting for Representative Jang. This is the camp of candidate Park Hyeong-jun.

— Cho Kyeong-tae, People Power Party LawmakerAddressing supporters of a rival faction at a campaign event.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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