Ruling party leader's 'banmal' to president sparks outrage, calls for action

A political firestorm has ignited in South Korea following a ruling party leader's use of a sign employing "banmal", an informal and often disrespectful form of address, directed at the president.

“

When the first opposition party leader does something like this, holding a sign that says, 'Jae-myung-ah, stop fighting with high schoolers and fight me,' I believe our public authorities should also make some kind of statement.

Park Ji-won, a member of the main opposition Democratic Party, vehemently condemned the act. He questioned Justice Minister Sim Sang-wook during a parliamentary committee meeting about whether he had seen the sign, which read, "Jae-myung-ah, stop fighting with high schoolers and fight me." Park argued that even amidst heated political discourse, basic respect for the head of state should be maintained, recalling that the opposition consistently addressed the former president formally before his impeachment.

"When the first opposition party leader does something like this, holding a sign that says, 'Jae-myung-ah, stop fighting with high schoolers and fight me,' I believe our public authorities should also make some kind of statement," Park stated. Justice Minister Sim acknowledged the gesture as "very inappropriate" and a "minimal loss of etiquette towards a leader elected by the people." However, he noted that the legal scope for the Ministry of Justice or prosecution to act on such subjective and potentially insulting remarks is limited, suggesting that the decision would likely fall to the police during their investigation.

“

very inappropriate and a minimal loss of etiquette towards a leader elected by the people.

The incident has drawn criticism from within the ruling party as well. Yoon Hee-seok, a former spokesperson for a faction within the People Power Party, described the sign as "inappropriate," adding that using such "derogatory terms" makes any accompanying argument difficult to hear. Despite the backlash, the ruling party leader appeared unfazed, smiling and clapping when a participant at a subsequent rally used a similar "banmal" phrase directed at the president.

“

Inappropriate.