‘Lemmings’ remark stirs public fury
A provincial councilor is under heavy fire after comparing the people to “lemmings” during a media interview.
The interview was conducted via phone last week while Kim Hak-cheol of the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and three other fellow members of the North Chungcheong Provincial Council were on a trip to Europe. They left the country after their province was struck by severe floods, and this behaviour stirred criticism among local residents.
While commenting on the public criticism, Kim told a KBS reporter that the “people are like lemmings, the rodents that act in a group as seen in the ferry Sewol incident.”
As Kim’s remarks stirred a wave of protests, the councillors cut short their scheduled 10-day trip and returned home. The three other councillors are Park Bong-soon and Park Han-beum of the LKP and Choi Byeong-yoon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).
Cheongju, the provincial capital, suffered the worst flood damage in the aftermath of last weekend’s downpours. The council held a press conference July 17, asking the central government to designate the province a special disaster zone. The four lawmakers left for France and Italy the next day.
Amid the unprecendented flooding in the town, the members’ trip stirred up a public backlash. They decided to come home early once they heard about the situation.
Choi and Park Bong-soon were on standby at the airport from Wednesday morning, waiting for the first available flight to Seoul.
They came back to Korea on Thursday and took part in flood restoration work the next day.
Kim and Park Han-beum returned home Saturday.
Rep. Kim and Park Han-beum held a press conference at the provincial office in Cheongju Sunday to make a public apology.
Kim apologized for his “lemming” remark, saying that his intention was not to trivialize the people.
He said the statement was meant to explain a social phenomenon so did not expect the expression to become a serious issue.
Five members including Rep. Lee An-koo of LKP discussed whether to push ahead with the trip until just before the departure date, Kim said. But they decided to go because of the cancellation fees considering that the trip was scheduled three months ago.
Lee did not go as he was feeling not well.
The LPK held an ethics committee meeting Friday and decided to expel the three lawmakers from the party. The DPK said they will carry out an internal investigation and take disciplinary action.