Kim Min-seok apologizes over Boo Seung-chan’s “draining public finances” remark: “The entire party must be more measured in its words and actions”

[Financial News] Kim Min-seok, leader of the DPK, apologized on the 20th over the controversy surrounding lawmaker Boo Seung-chan’s “fire service finances” remark, emphasizing that “the party as a whole should be more measured in its words and actions.”
Speaking on the party’s YouTube show “Minti07” that day, Kim said, “Various things have happened that may have caused concern among the public, and I want to apologize once again,” adding, “Whatever the context, I thought people would find it uncomfortable.”
Earlier, during the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee’s parliamentary audit of Gyeonggi Province on the 19th, Rep. Boo sparked controversy by saying that the fire service-related budget was “draining local government finances” as he defended Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae’s remark about a “straw sucking up fire service funds.” The controversy widened after firefighters’ unions and others protested Choo’s remark and similar language was repeated. In response, Kim issued a stern warning to Rep. Boo the previous day and ordered the party’s Ethics Inspection Team to investigate the circumstances surrounding the remark.
Kim emphasized, “This isn’t a matter of just one person. The party as a whole, including me, is facing many difficulties right now, so I thought that at times like these, we should be a little more measured in our words and actions.”
Kim had pledged to raise the party’s approval rating by 10 percentage points within 100 days of taking office, but the party is struggling to rebound. With controversies over verbal gaffes by party members following the recent controversy over his own excessive protocol, this is seen as an effort to tighten discipline within the party.

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