By Jun Ji-hye
Rep. Kim Jae-won, who was newly named the Saenuri Party’s spokesperson, is embroiled in controversy due to a bout of cursing and losing his temper during a dinner with a group of journalists, Sunday.
The ruling party’s presidential candidate Park Geun-hye replaced the previous party spokesman Hong Il-pyo with Kim Sunday, in response to criticism against the alleged weak communication methods of the party.
The newly-appointed spokesman was having dinner with the press for the first time to mark his designation. “The reason why Park engages in politics is to recover her father’s honor,” he said according to reporters who attended the dinner.
About an hour later, Kim received a phone call from the party and was asked if he had made the comment. Right after he hung up, he suddenly got angry with the journalists and asked the group who reported his remark to the party, pointing to each journalist with his finger. He even started referring to reporters as idiots and said “Why did you report a private conversation? You are an idiot. Can you say you are a journalist?”
“Did you think you could get an exclusive story? Whatever you report to your head office, it gets back to us. We know everything,” he added.
Reporters from approximately 10 media organizations all said, “Kim drank a lot and was intoxicated.”
The Democratic United Party (DUP) criticized Kim’s remarks through the briefing at the National Assembly Monday. “Kim behaved as if Park had already become President. Given that Kim is one of Park’s closest allies, Kim’s comments can be regarded as equal to Park’s mindset,” said Jung Sung-ho, DUP’s spokesperson.
The Saenuri Party was initially planning to award a certificate of appointment to Kim Monday but it was postponed by the supreme council following the criticism.
Rep. Kim, who also was a spokesman for Park’s primary election camp in 2007, said during his appearance on YTN radio, “I am ashamed. It was true that I lost my reason on that day. It was my fault.”
Along with Kim’s appointment as the new spokesperson, Kim Byung-ho, the chief of publicity affairs, was replaced with Lee Jung-hyun, a member of the party’s Supreme Council, to strengthen communication with the public.