Wearing a large name tag on his chest... lawmaker who cleared a storm drain amid torrential rain faces ‘staging’ accusations

[Financial News] An online debate over political sincerity erupted around Park Hae-cheol, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker representing Ansan Byeong, Gyeonggi Province, after he shared images of himself clearing leaves from a drain with his bare hands in torrential rain, wearing a suit and a name tag.
On the 18th, Park said on social media, “I canceled the scheduled on-site public-service office and inspected areas expected to be affected by the rain because the rain and strong winds raised safety concerns,” adding, “The sudden downpour blocked the drainage system, so I hurriedly cleared away the leaves.” He also posted that he had inspected areas prone to flooding and urged Ansan City, the local government, to prepare for small streams overflowing.
The accompanying video and photos showed Park, dressed in a suit, clearing with his bare hands a pile of leaves covering a drain beside a road in the rain. Attention focused on a shot of him facing the camera with a large name tag still attached to his jacket, reading “National Assembly Member Park Hae-cheol.”
Public opinion was sharply divided soon after the post went up. Critical netizens took a dim view, calling it “the stereotypical ‘performative show politics’ of turning on the camera and filming yourself at work” and asking, “Wasn’t this staged, with him wearing a suit instead of work clothes and even a huge name tag?” Others also criticized it as excessive self-promotion that failed to take the public’s expectations into account.
There were also many voices defending Park’s swift response on the ground. Supporters and some netizens applauded him, saying, “Seeing the risk of flooding, a lawmaker personally rolling up his sleeves is a humble act in service of the public,” and “He’s a hundred times better than politicians who just sit around.”
However, the ‘staging controversy’ over the name tag was understood to stem from his immediately preceding engagement. According to Park’s office, he had worn the name tag at a local residents’ event he attended just before inspecting the storm damage. It was reported that, as he rushed to the site amid concerns about rain damage, he was unable to take it off and hurried to clear the drainage channel.

[email protected] Moon Young-jin Reporter