LKP floor leader blasted for using derogatory terms against Moon, women

Rep. Na Kyung-won, floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, delivers a speech during her party's nationwide tour to criticize the Moon Jae-in administration in Daegu, Saturday. She came under fire for calling Moon's fans by using insulting remarks such as “Moonppa,” which means Moon's crazed fan, and “Dalchang,” Moon's whore. / Yonhap

By Park Ji-won

Main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) floor leader Rep. Na Kyung-won is taking flak for using derogatory language to attack President Moon Jae-in and his supporters.

Na is notorious for making snide remarks when criticizing the President, but this time even many LKP members believe she went too far.

In an outdoor rally in Daegu, Saturday, she called followers of Moon “Moonppa” and “Dalchang,” disparaging terms used in far-right online communities. Moonppa means “lunatics of Moon” and Dalchang refers to “whores” for Moon.

She used these words while trying to defend a KBS reporter who Moon's supporters criticized regarding her sharp questions asked during a nationally televised interview with the President. As the interviewer was being attacked online, Moon actually protected her, saying he would have been okay with sharper questions.

But Na brought up the issue during the rally to attack “blind” supporters of Moon.

After her remarks went viral, Na immediately apologized for her language, saying “I used the terms without knowing their exact meaning to describe those extreme fans of Moon. I apologize for causing a controversy by unknowingly using such harsh terms.”

But other political parties, especially the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), and activist groups stepped up criticism of Na, urging her to step down from her leadership position.

“The terms are too vulgar to be used to describe people,” said Rep. Park Ju-min, a Supreme Council member of the DPK.

“Her goal of attracting more supporters cannot be justified if she crosses the line. It will be insulting for her supporters too.”

The DPK's female lawmakers condemned Na for making such “shocking” remarks and demanded her resignation.

“It is shocking to see Na, who is floor leader of the main opposition party and a woman, using such slang, which encourages misogyny and insults people in a public speech,” the DPK's female lawmakers said in a statement Monday.

“We express deep regret over Na's misogynistic remarks which insulted women and citizens and urge her to make a sincere apology and quit her job as LKP floor leader immediately.”

A group of women's rights activists also released a joint statement Monday, saying “Defamatory remarks which are rooted in misogyny and stigma are violence against women as they politically use the people's lack of gender sensitivity.”

Experts say Na appears to have prioritized the short-term effects of such defamatory remarks to win people's support.

“Na appears to have easily adopted defamatory remarks to gain political benefits. She needed to focus on the negative impact rather than positive effects,” Cha Jae-won, a visiting professor of the Catholic University of Pusan, said during a YTN interview, Monday.