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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

Political commentator apologizes after joking about executions linked to 'Minhyuk Party' name

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • A South Korean political commentator apologized after joking about potential executions if the Cho Kuk Innovation Party were renamed 'Minhyuk Party,' referencing the historical Inhyuk Party crackdown.
  • The remark, made on a JTBC YouTube broadcast, drew criticism from the victims' families and the party's leader, Cho Kuk, who called it "way over the line."
  • The commentator and the broadcast production team have issued apologies, and the party plans to file a complaint with the Korea Communications Standards Commission.

A political commentator has issued an apology after making a remark that trivialized a dark chapter of South Korea's authoritarian past, linking it to the potential renaming of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party.

Kim Jun-il, a commentator on the JTBC YouTube channel 'Genre: Yeouido,' suggested 'Jinbo Innovation Party' or 'Minju Innovation Party' as new names for the Cho Kuk Innovation Party. When a fellow panelist shortened this to 'Minhyuk Party,' Kim responded with a laugh, "'Minhyuk Party,' it feels like everyone would be executed," prompting laughter from others on the broadcast.

It feels like everyone would be executed.

— Kim Jun-ilCommentator Kim Jun-il's remark on the potential renaming of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, referencing the historical Inhyuk Party case.

Kim's comment clearly alluded to the notorious "Inhyuk Party Reconstruction Committee" case, a significant instance of judicial murder under former President Park Chung-hee's regime. In that case, eight individuals were sentenced to death and executed mere hours after their sentences were finalized in 1975, based on fabricated charges of attempting to reconstruct the Inhyuk Party. These individuals were posthumously acquitted in 2007.

It crossed the line, and then some.

— Cho KukFormer leader of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, criticizing the commentator's remark.

The remark sparked outrage, with critics deeming it a disrespectful trivialization of the victims' suffering. The production team of 'Genre: Yeouido' promptly removed the segment from the video and issued an apology, acknowledging their "inappropriate remark" and "oversight."

However, Cho Kuk, the former leader of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, deemed the apology insufficient. He stated on Facebook that while criticism of his party falls under freedom of speech, using expressions that evoke "judicial murder victims" while "giggling" crossed a significant line. Cho demanded a formal apology from the commentator and host on the next broadcast and announced the party's intention to file a complaint with the Korea Communications Standards Commission. Following Cho's statement, Kim Jun-il personally apologized to the Inhyuk Party victims' families and the party members, acknowledging his "unforgivable mistake" and "wrongdoing."

I deeply apologize to the deceased of the Inhyuk Party and their bereaved families.

— Kim Jun-ilCommentator Kim Jun-il's personal apology following the controversy.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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