Anger is spreading nationwide toward Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Moon-soo (Suncheon-A, South Jeolla Province), who dismissed public servants as "lackeys."
The Korean Government Employees' Union (KGEU) issued a statement on Wednesday demanding an official apology from Rep. Kim and disciplinary action from the Democratic Party over his demeaning remarks about civil servants.
"We are workers who protect citizens, not your 'lackeys,'" the union said in the statement. "Rep. Kim Moon-soo's 'lackey' remark directed at public servants is not a simple slip of the tongue but the naked face of an arrogant elitist consciousness that looks down on the public sector."
The union further criticized the remark as "violence that thoroughly trampled the self-respect of 1.2 million public servants who have endured with pride as workers serving citizens," adding that it "revealed a distorted view of labor that seeks to control public servants only as instruments of power."
The union also raised doubts about the sincerity of Kim's apology posted on social media following the controversy, and continued its sharp criticism.
"Trying to smooth over an insult to 1.2 million people with a few lines on Facebook is not an apology but a second offense," the KGEU said. "The position of a National Assembly member cannot serve as a right to recklessly ridicule workers and issue one's own indulgence."
The union demanded that Rep. Kim issue a direct, official apology in front of public servant workers, while also urging the Democratic Party not to treat the matter as an individual's deviation but to carry out an official party-level apology and the highest level of disciplinary action.
Earlier, Rep. Kim made the shocking remark, "If you want to be a lackey, you should become a public servant," on the 2nd while attending a "Cucumber Day" event hosted by the Nakan Cucumber Horticultural Agricultural Cooperative in Suncheon during a conversation with participants. The approximately five-second video clip capturing the scene has been rapidly spreading through local YouTube channels and social media up to the present, with the fallout continuing to expand.
The Democratic Party is expected to find itself in an awkward position, as Rep. Kim's erratic conduct is compounded by allegations of bribery against Son Hoon-mo, a preliminary candidate running for Suncheon mayor in the June 3 local elections.
