Democratic Party’s Jeong Cheong-rae, candidate Ha Jung-woo apologize after child harassment backlash

Democratic Party leader Jeong Cheong-rae and Ha Jung-woo, who has formally announced his bid in the Busan Buk-gu Gap parliamentary by-election, pose for photos with merchants at Gupo Market in Busan on the afternoon of May 3. [Photo=Yonhap]

Jeong Cheong-rae, leader of the Democratic Party, and Ha Jung-woo, the party’s candidate in Busan’s Buk-gu Gap district, apologized after drawing criticism for urging a first-grade girl to call Ha “oppa,” a Korean term often used by younger females for an older male.

The Democratic Party said May 3 that Jeong issued a statement saying he was “sorry to the child and the child’s parents, who may have been hurt as the child became the center of controversy” during a visit to Gupo Market.

Ha also said that day that “the child became the center of controversy” while he was meeting residents, adding, “I offer my apologies to the child and the parents who may have been hurt. I will be more careful and meet residents with a low and humble attitude.”

Jeong and Ha visited Gupo Market in Busan on the morning of May 3. Jeong asked the girl, “What grade are you in? This is Jung-woo oppa. Say ‘oppa.’” Ha echoed him by saying, “Oppa.”

The People Power Party criticized the exchange as “child sexual harassment” and “child abuse.” Rep. Seong Il-jong wrote on Facebook, “Ha, at age 50, do you really want to hear an 8-year-old girl call you ‘oppa’ that badly?” adding, “As a father with a daughter, I can’t stay silent.” Ha was born in 1977.

Seong also criticized Jeong, saying, “No matter how desperate you are for votes, can you really put a child through this?” He added that while Ha might lack experience as a political newcomer, it was “truly devastating” that Jeong, a four-term lawmaker and party leader, took part.

Rep. Park Jeong-hoon, described as a close friend of independent candidate Han Dong-hoon, who has declared his run in Buk-gu Gap, said, “Telling an elementary school student to call a politician more than 40 years older ‘oppa’ is clear ‘child sexual harassment.’” Park added that while such behavior by the Democratic Party was “nothing new,” Ha was “just as pathetic” for laughing and joining in by saying “oppa.”

* This article has been translated by AI.

LEE KEONHEE