Party chiefs talk 'trash' as accusations fly

Supporters of Democratic Party candidate Kwak Sang-eon, left, and People Power Party candidate Choi Jae-young campaign side by side along a road in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Monday, nine days before the general election. [YONHAP]

The war of words between the country’s political parties intensified over the weekend as leaders of both the conservative People Power Party (PPP) and the liberal Democratic Party (DP) hurled epithets and insults to describe their rivals on the campaign trail.

Although both parties have cautioned their candidates against using vulgar or off-color language to avoid alienating undecided voters, the warnings appear not to have reined in their leaders.

Speaking at a campaign event in Bucheon, Gyeonggi, on Saturday, PPP interim leader Han Dong-hoon criticized DP leader Lee Jae-myung and other DP candidates for “talking like trash,” which prompted DP spokesman Kang Min-seok to describe Han as having a “trash can for a mouth.”

Han’s description of Lee referred to the latter’s comments during a recorded conversation with his sister-in-law, whom he repeatedly called an unprintable epithet over the phone in 2016.

The PPP leader also likened Cho Kuk, chief of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party, to a “dog” in the way he engages in politics at a rally in Seodaemun District, western Seoul, on Friday

But Han was not alone in describing his political foes in harsh terms.

During a campaign appearance in Songpa District, southern Seoul, Lee said that the country’s politicians “should simply be regarded as [the people’s] manservants.”

The Korean term for “manservant” that Lee used is an archaic one that is rarely used in modern times except to denigrate a person for having no mind or will of their own.

The DP leader added that “if the term ‘manservant’ seems derogatory, people ought to remember that it’s alright to deride everyone from the president to the district chiefs.”

At a previous event on March 26, Lee also compared President Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration to “a stepfather or stepmother,” which drew criticism for its negative depiction of remarriage.

Political observers say that the harsh language employed by party leaders is aimed at shoring up their core support through negative characterizations of the opposing side.

Both parties are also trading allegations of wrongdoing against each other’s parliamentary candidates.

In recent days, the PPP’s election campaign committee has focused its fire against DP candidates Yang Moon-seok and Gong Yeong-woon, both of whom are accused of registering loans and land deeds under their children’s names to skirt regulations regarding real estate transactions.

In an editorial published Friday, PPP election committee member Park Jeong-ha said it would "not be an exaggeration to call the DP a haven for all kinds of real estate-related fraud and corruption” as he castigated the party for nominating multiple candidates with suspicious property transaction records.

The DP, for its part, has accused PPP candidates Shin Beom-chul and Im Jong-deuk of being involved in former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup’s alleged interference in a military probe into the drowning of a young Marine during a rescue operation for flood victims in July last year.

Shin served as vice defense minister at the time, while Im served as second deputy national security adviser.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]