Rejected DP nominee claims previous photo shoot caused disqualification

YouTuber Park Eun-soo's photo, left, and photos from a campaign to raise awareness of the disabled community. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A proportional representative nominee for the majority Democratic Party (DP) claimed that she was disqualified from the shortlist due to a potentially questionable photo shoot.

YouTuber Park Eun-soo, who is in her 20s and lost her hearing in 2020, bid for an allocated proportional representation seat of the DP but failed to make the final list.

After her disqualification, Park posted on Facebook on Wednesday regarding her situation.

She said that she was one of the final nominees to fill a seat for the DP proportional representation candidate list to represent women, youth and the disabled. However, she was removed from the list during the party’s supreme council decision-making.

“Recently, I applied for the candidate spot for the DP proportional representation seat to represent women, youth and the disabled. I passed the document screening and interview process,” Park said. “As a result, I was recommended by the party’s proportional representation nomination committee as a final candidate for the seat.”

“However, I was suddenly notified through a text that I was rejected during the supreme council meeting.”

She added that among the 20 final candidates on the shortlist, there was no one who could represent women, youth and the disabled simultaneously.

“According to a source, some DP members, including the leader, suggested selecting a candidate who could represent women, youth and the disabled. However, the final decision was turned over due to strong opposition within the party,” she said.

“It is difficult to figure out the exact reason, as I have not received any explanation about the rejection,” Park said. “Based on the questions that I have received during my screening process, I believe that a post that I uploaded in November last year affected the decision.”

Park posted a photo in question on Nov. 16, 2023, of herself wearing a hearing aid.

According to Park, the photo was taken in October 2023 to show people that hearing aids are not an embarrassment or a flaw but rather a natural part of a person’s daily life. Later, the photo was used in a worldwide campaign to raise awareness about disabled people.

“During the screening process, I was asked about the photo, which I explained was part of a worldwide campaign to raise awareness about the disabled, where I participated as a disabled content creator,” she said.

Park said that she did not have the chance to vindicate herself after the supreme council’s decision.

She also stated that “the supreme council’s decision is clearly a discrimination against the disabled for not nominating a candidate due to my photo being [seen as] sexual.”

“Such a decision will be left as a precedent for a disqualification reason toward women, youth and disabled candidates who took a body profile photo shoot in the past,” she said.

A body profile photo shoot is a trend in Korea where people work out intensely and take a photo shoot, generally in their underwear, to show off their most optimum physical condition.

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]