The Democratic Party of Korea on Wednesday described as "sincere" the apology issued by Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin over Starbucks' controversial marketing campaign that allegedly mocked the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement and the Sewol ferry tragedy. At the same time, the ruling party criticized the People Power Party's offensive on the matter as "exploitation for electoral gain," and called for an end to excessive negative campaigning in the final stretch of the election in favor of policy and vision-based competition.
Speaking at a National Assembly press briefing on Wednesday morning, Democratic Party Chief Spokesperson Kang Joon-hyun said regarding Chung's apology, "Such incidents must not recur," adding, "Once the election is over, we will put our heads together through the relevant standing committees to discuss measures to prevent recurrence."
"Shinsegae took the time to verify the facts, and the group's chairman himself stepped forward to apologize, which shows the company made an effort," Kang said. "It appears the matter has been wrapped up well for now."
The Democratic Party reiterated that the core issue was the inappropriate marketing itself. "The fact that Chairman Chung Yong-jin personally apologized is itself proof of just how inappropriate the marketing was," Kang said. "And yet the People Power Party is politically exploiting this and trying to muddy the waters."
Kang particularly took issue with the opposition's framing of the incident as "suppression of the freedom to choose coffee." "It is wrong to portray the Democratic Party and the Lee Jae-myung administration as if they are persecuting the freedom to choose coffee," he said. "The People Power Party must properly recognize the problem and wake up."
The party also expressed concern over the escalating negative campaigning in the closing days of the election. "When you go around the field, you hear a lot of people saying that policies and visions are nowhere to be seen, only negative attacks," Kang said. "It is now time to talk about future visions and what we will do for our children and young people."
"Excessive negative campaigning does not help much in elections either," he stressed. "We must avoid methods that make even elementary and middle school students feel disgusted with politics."
Meanwhile, regarding allegations of misconduct among the party's own candidates, including suspicions that Park Jie-won, the candidate for the Gunsan-Gimje-Buan A constituency, frequented entertainment establishments, the Democratic Party made clear it would take a candidate-centered approach rather than intervening at the party level.
Asked about the matter, Kang said, "The party is closely watching and monitoring the situation," but drew a line by adding, "Various allegations raised in the final stages of an election are not for the party to step in on. They are issues that the candidates themselves must handle by clarifying the facts and offering explanations directly through press conferences."
