Comedian Lee Sang-min has strongly criticized Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae—who recently sparked controversy with remarks describing firefighting finances as a "straw"—by having 250 straws delivered directly to her office.
Yesterday, Lee shared a notification message from an online shopping mall on his social media, which read that "the delivery of 250 straws to the Gyeonggi Provincial Government's Governor's Office has been completed."
Lee stated, "Although they could not be brought right up to the door of Governor Choo Mi-ae's office, as a resident of Gyeonggi Province, I am expressing my anger."
Targeting Governor Choo, Lee explained his reason for ordering the straws to the provincial office, saying, "Despite facing public backlash, she never apologized," and adding, "Instead, the party stepped forward to apologize. It is a reality that is more tragicomic and grim than comedy."
Regarding Governor Choo's subsequent apology, in which she said, "I regret if it was conveyed differently from my intentions, and since you wish for an apology, I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart," Lee also remarked, "Upon hearing of her apology, I frantically considered canceling the straw delivery, but it is difficult to view it as a sincere apology."
Earlier, on October 13, Governor Choo triggered controversy during a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee when referring to the firefighting budget, saying, "Firefighting seems to be the biggest, most troublesome financial straw."
She later explained that the comment was made in the course of explaining the financial burden on local governments, but groups including the firefighters' labor union strongly pushed back, stating that she "disparaged the dedication of firefighters who protect the public's safety."
As the controversy persisted, Governor Choo visited the memorial altar of a fallen firefighter on October 17 and bowed in apology, saying, "I had no intention to disparage firefighters, and it was a mistake made while discussing structural financial problems."
(Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Kim Ki-hyun | Design by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News)
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