Lawmaker in hot water over 'sexual' remark
Minjoo Party of Korea Rep. Yoo Eun-hye, second from right, stands with party lawmakers to announce that they will report Saenuri Party Rep. Han Sun-kyo to the Special Committee on Ethics for making a "sexually harassing" remark to Rep. Yoo during National Assembly audit sessions Thursday. / Yonhap
By Ko Dong-hwan
Saenuri Party Rep. Han Sun-kyo
Rep. Han Sun-kyo has become the target of opposition criticism after making what female lawmakers claimed was a “sexually harassing” remark to Rep. Yoo Eun-hye during National Assembly audit sessions on Thursday.
Han, a ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker, was addressing sessions held to question the Education, Culture and Tourism Committee, of which he is a member. As he mentioned the rising controversies of the Mir and K-Sports foundations, he caught some of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) lawmakers, including Yoo, laughing.
Apparently angered, Han, a former MBC news reader, asked Yoo, “What is so funny? Do you find me attractive or something?”
Yoo, offended by the comment, demanded Han apologize. MPK’s poet-turned-lawmaker Do Jong-hwan and Park Kyung-mi joined Yoo in criticizing Han.
Han apologized, saying he and Yoo are from the same alumni circle.
“I guess I might have lost grip since I perceived her as my colleague,” Han said during the audit’s follow-up session in the afternoon. “If she is still uncomfortable about what I said, I will make further apologies.”
Yoo was not moved by his apology.
“Before I am your colleague, I am a lawmaker representing my citizens and we are in the middle of an Assembly audit session,” Yoo said. “Your comment embarrassed me and neither is it appropriate to the committee.”
Ten female MPK lawmakers said they will report Han to the Special Committee on Ethics.
They “will not keep quiet about male lawmakers who shamelessly make sexually discriminating or sexually harassing comments to female members of the Congress,” they said.
MPK floor leader Woo Sang-ho said Friday he will support reporting Han to the committee.
Han was criticized in September when he was seen aggressively grabbing a bodyguard by the collar, sparking complaints from 320 people who said he should be penalized. Han was also seen grabbing the neck of Rep. Lee Jong-kul during an argument in 2009.