Two left-wingers cause stir for divisive comments

Radio news show host Kim Eo-jun / Korea Times file

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Two left-wing figures have found themselves in trouble after drawing public backlash over their inappropriate remarks on minorities in Korean society.

Poet and commentator Kim Gab-su dropped out of a KBS daytime talk show after his controversial remarks on North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker Ji Sung-ho.

Kim Eo-jun, who rose to stardom among President Moon Jae-in's supporters for his satirical comments and critical views about conservative politicians, came under fire for his apparent criticism of housing tenants.

As a panelist in the talk show on June 8, Kim Gab-su rebuked the main opposition United Future Party lawmaker for his remarks on the anti-North Korea leaflets sent by North Korean defectors.

"I am telling this to a man named Ji Sung-ho. Know yourself. Please know where you are from," Kim said. "We accepted you and let you win the election to become a lawmaker. Aren't we so nice to you? If you agree, from now on, you'll never say anything like what you said earlier."

Kim warned Rep. Ji for his remarks on June 4 when the Assemblyman defended fellow North Korean defectors who were sending information over the border to the North. Ji said North Korean residents don't know what's going on outside their country and sending leaflets to the North is necessary to better inform them of the outside world.

Kim insisted that sending the anti-North Korea leaflets would do nothing good for the two Koreas. "There will be no actual benefits from it. Sending the leaflets is a divisive action. Until when should we tolerate the defectors taking action which is destructive for both groups and real politics? What a pity," he said.

KBS issued a statement in which the broadcaster expressed that it was sorry for Kim's remarks, adding Kim was removed from the panel on June 15. "Mr. Kim will drop out of the program. We told him that he no longer needs to appear on the program, which he accepted."

A caricature image of current affairs commentator Kim Gab-su / Korea Times file

KBS' measure, however, didn't stop the controversy.

Rep. Ji said Kim's harsh remarks hurt him and fellow North Korean defectors. "What he said was harsher to us than what North Korea did to us when we were in the North. He treated us like aliens," he wrote on Facebook.

In a media interview, Kim said he was being immature. "I made those remarks while responding to the right-wing [lawmaker's] activities and now I think my reaction was childish," he said. "I was irritated because he called the government's ban on the leaflets an anti-Kim Yo-jong measure. I myself have relatives living in North Korea and I once had campaigned for the defectors. But I changed my mind after seeing some of them involved in the right-wing movement."

Kim appeared in TV first as a culture commentator. Then he expanded his expertise into politics and commented on current affairs and political news as a panelist on several TV shows.

Left-wing journalist Kim Eo-jun also came under fire for his inappropriate remarks about tenants during the TBS radio show, "Kim Eo-jun's News Factory."

Ruling party lawmaker Park Ju-min was invited to the show and talked about the bill he was trying to introduce to protect tenants in their housing contracts with landlords.

He claimed some conservative media outlets ran inaccurate coverage about his bill and this caused some people, both landlords and tenants, to oppose it.

In the past, Kim said, landlords were in a position to force tenants to sign contracts in favor of the landlord. "Tenants had no other choices but to sign the unfair contracts. They accepted all conditions their landlords requested and took it for granted," Kim said, adding that now some tenants are complaining about Park's bill "even though they don't own any housing."

Some internet users criticized Kim over his remarks, claiming they sounded as though people who don't own homes cannot criticize a bill proposed by a lawmaker.

Kim has not responded to the criticism.

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