Rep. Lee Jin-sook of the People Power Party said she will file an additional criminal complaint against Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok over his remark describing her as a "female Chun Doo-hwan." The Democratic Party pushed back by renewing accusations that Lee has disparaged the 1980 Gwangju democratization movement, and called on her to give up her seat in the National Assembly.
Speaking to reporters on the 6th after undergoing questioning as a complainant at the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul, Lee said Kim's reference to her as a "female Chun Doo-hwan" was clear defamation and that she would file an additional complaint on charges of insult. "Leader Kim has served as prime minister of the Republic of Korea and is still the leader of the ruling party," Lee said. "He should refrain from such remarks."
Lee had earlier filed an insult complaint on the 24th of last month over Kim's description of her as a "female Hitler." She announced the additional complaint after Kim said that Lee had objected to being called a "female Hitler" while raising no objection to the "female Chun Doo-hwan" expression.
The Democratic Party countered that Lee has fueled controversy over the Gwangju democratization movement. In a briefing, chief spokesperson Park Sung-joon noted that Lee had invited the former chief of staff to ex-President Chun Doo-hwan to a debate at the National Assembly and had circulated a video describing the Gwangju uprising as a "disturbance" and a "riot." "How is calling her a female Chun Doo-hwan an insult?" he said.
"What Lee needs to write is not a criminal complaint but a letter of resignation," Park said. "She should give up her seat, return to private life and praise Chun Doo-hwan all she wants."
