[Anchor]

Satirical content mocking the so-called "bus house" proposal—suggested by Democratic Party lawmaker Hwang Hee as a solution to young people's housing issues—has been popping up online. As criticism poured in, particularly from the younger generation, Rep. Hwang issued an apology today (the 10th), stating that he failed to carefully consider the sentiments of young people.

Here is the report from Son Hyeong-an.

[Reporter]

Parodies of established apartment brand names appear alongside depictions of young people living in buses parked at terminal stations.

[AI-generated video (Provided by the office of People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo): Dreaming of a home of my own, only to be given a bus.]

Most of these images were generated using AI.

On the 7th, three-term Democratic Party lawmaker Hwang Hee proposed providing remodeled, retired buses as temporary housing spaces to ease the housing shortage for young people. Following the suggestion, a flood of satirical memes mocking the idea spread across social media and internet communities.

There were also many angry responses from young people who said, "He is completely out of touch with the reality of youth."

The People Power Party criticized the proposal, stating, "Instead of supplying quality housing, he mocked the younger generation with an absurd idea."

[Park Choong-kwon / Senior Spokesperson, People Power Party: I believe the priority should be to explain the background behind how such ideas came about and offer a profound apology.]

The Rebuilding Korea Party pointed out, "A ruling party member of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, who should be designing supply measures, abruptly threw out a 'temporary shelter' idea." Meanwhile, the Reform Party raised voices against the hypocrisy, saying, "They are destroying the public housing ladder while offering scrap-bus housing to young people."

The Democratic Party struggled to contain the fallout today, emphasizing that it was an individual lawmaker's idea and unrelated to the party as a whole.

[Lee Ju-hee / Floor Spokesperson, Democratic Party: It was presented as a personal opinion, and we feel a deep sense of regret about it.]

Rep. Hwang initially announced this morning that he would hold a press briefing this afternoon to clarify the matter. However, apparently considering the angry public sentiment, he canceled the briefing shortly afterward and instead posted an apology on social media.

Rep. Hwang stated, "I bow my head and apologize for causing great concern and disappointment to the younger generation and the public." He added, "'Bus House' was an idea intended to help ease the burden of temporary housing costs for young people, but I failed to carefully understand the hearts of the youth involved."

(Video reporting: Lee Seung-hwan and Shin Dong-hwan | Video editing: So Ji-hye | Design: Lee Jong-jung)