PPP Gyeongsangnam-do Councilor Faces Backlash for Derogatory Remarks About President Lee in Assembly Group Chat

A People Power Party (PPP) councilor in the Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Assembly has sparked strong backlash from Democratic Party (DP) lawmakers after using a derogatory term to refer to President Lee Jae-myung in a group chat on KakaoTalk that includes all assembly members and staff.

According to the provincial assembly today, Kim Lee-keun, a PPP councilor who serves as the chair of the assembly's ethics committee, responded to a message posted by a fellow PPP councilor on August 29. The other councilor had shared a personal statement and media article raising issues regarding the relocation of the Naval Academy in Jinhae, to which Kim replied with a message containing a derogatory term targeting President Lee, saying, "○○○ is digging their own grave."

DP lawmakers immediately pushed back upon seeing the message.

One DP councilor criticized the post, asking, "Is this room a place for the ruling and opposition parties to hurl insults at each other?" and adding, "People are entitled to their own views, but we must at least maintain basic courtesy."

In response, Councilor Kim posted a message explaining, "I mistakenly thought I was in the PPP group chat," but DP councilors continued their criticism, demanding that he refrain from using crude expressions.

Ultimately, all DP councilors left the group chat.

As the controversy grew, Councilor Kim called DP Floor Leader Kim Kyung-su to offer an apology and express his intent to resign as chair of the ethics committee.

Floor Leader Kim Kyung-su said, "We accepted the apology out of concern over the escalation of the controversy, but I am worried about how the provincial residents will perceive this."

Out of a total of 68 seats in the Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Assembly, the PPP holds 44 seats, the DP holds 23 seats, and an independent holds 1 seat.

(Photo provided by Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Assembly, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.