Parasite Parody and a 2.9 Billion Won Subsidy Controversy

[Anchor]

Next is news regarding Yong Hye-in, the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family. This time, her past remarks comparing political parties that receive state subsidies to the movie <Parasite> have come under fire. This is because if nominee Yong retains her lawmaker position for the Basic Income Party, her own party could pocket up to 2.9 billion won in state subsidies.

Park Yerim has the details.

[Reporter]

This promotional material, which parodies the poster of the movie <Parasite>, was created by the Basic Income Party back in 2020.

Nominee Yong Hye-in, currently a proportional representation lawmaker for the Basic Income Party, held up a picket at the time bearing slogans such as the "abolition of state subsidies."

The press conference statement at the time also included content attacking parties that receive subsidies, stating that many political forces calculate state subsidies ahead of elections and merge or split accordingly.

Nominee Yong has been refusing to resign from her lawmaker position, arguing that if she steps down, the Basic Income Party would become an extra-parliamentary party.

Criticism is pouring in from the opposition camp, calling it hypocrisy, pointing out that nominee Yong, who once criticized and ridiculed "subsidy-receiving parties" by comparing them to "parasites," is now clinging to her lawmaker position to secure subsidies for her party.

Rep. Kim So-hee of the People Power Party estimates that if nominee Yong maintains her lawmaker position, the Basic Income Party will receive approximately 2.9 billion won in state subsidies around the 2028 general elections, including 1.94 billion won in regular subsidies and 1 billion won in election subsidies.

The People Power Party questioned, "Is it proper to cling to a lawmaker position won with votes from a proportional coalition party under the pretext of maintaining the Basic Income Party's status in parliament?" and vowed to verify how the subsidies are used.

Meanwhile, regarding the opposition's claim that nominating Yong is a "personnel scandal" linked to Kim Hyun-ji, the senior presidential secretary for the 1st affiliate room, the Democratic Party fired back, calling it a "conspiracy theory based on delusion."

The National Assembly confirmation hearings for ministerial and Supreme Court justice nominees are scheduled to open starting on the 15th, while the ruling and opposition parties are currently locked in a tug-of-war, with the ruling party trying to move up nominee Yong's hearing and the opposition trying to delay it.

(Video by Lee Young-chun and Lee Byung-joo | Video editing by Yu Mi-ra | Design by Im Chan-hyuk)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.