Rep. Lee Jin-sook of the People Power Party speaks to reporters at Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul on Aug. 24 after filing a criminal insult complaint against Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok, who called her a "female Hitler."NEWS1
A lawmaker from the opposition People Power Party (PPP) filed a criminal complaint Monday against governing Democratic Party (DP) leader Kim Min-seok after he called her a “female Hitler.”
Lee Jin-sook, chair of the PPP’s media committee, submitted the complaint to Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station on Monday afternoon, accusing Kim of insult under the Criminal Act. Her office said the remark went beyond political criticism and amounted to a malicious personal attack.
Kim made the remark at a joint DP leadership campaign speech for South Jeolla and Gwangju on Aug. 15, two days before he was elected party leader. He had just proposed revising the National Assembly Act so a majority of lawmakers could suspend a member for one year over remarks disparaging the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement.
“I will make sure neither a female Chun Doo Hwan nor a female Hitler can gain a foothold in Korea,” Kim said.
The dispute stems from an Aug. 13 forum that Rep. Lee co-hosted at the National Assembly with a civic group led by a revisionist New Right figure. One participant described the May 18 uprising as a “civil disturbance.” Rep. Lee has said that the comments made at the forum did not represent her position and defended holding the event as a forum for debate.
The DP responded on Monday by renewing calls for Lee's resignation.
Kim Min-seok, center, leader of the ruling Democratic Party, speaks during a meeting of the party's supreme council at the National Assembly in Seoul on Aug. 24.YONHAP
“Lee should be writing a resignation letter, not a criminal complaint,” DP spokesperson Lee Yong-woo said.
“She held a forum at the National Assembly where a speaker went so far as to call May 18 a ‘civil disturbance,’ yet instead of apologizing, she pushed back by saying critics were ‘demanding that May 18 be treated as sacrosanct.’ Now she is filing a complaint against someone who criticized her, portraying herself as the victim. There is a limit to this kind of blame-shifting.”
Criticism has also come from within the PPP. About 3,700 dues-paying members petitioned the party’s ethics committee last Monday to discipline Lee over the forum. The party leadership said it was not considering disciplinary action.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
