Water attack on a provincial governor

“I can’t accept it!” shouted Ahn Ju-yong, a provincial parliamentarian of the minor opposition Unified Progressive Party, while throwing water on South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Park Jun-yeong shortly after he began reading a New Year’s report at the provincial assembly. Water ran down the governor’s face, but had dangerous chemicals been used, he could have been seriously hurt. Park stared into Ahn`s eyes for a moment, wiped his face with a handkerchief, and then resumed reading the report. An unapologetic Ahn proudly told reporters later, “I couldn`t tolerate (the governor’s) speech without giving an apology.”

Gov. Park came under heavy fire for what he said in a Jan. 8 broadcast interview. When asked how the residents of the two Jeolla provinces could get over the defeat of their candidate Moon Jae-in in the presidential election, he said, “If voters cast their votes impulsively or based on emotions, they could end up going in the opposite direction from the rest of the country.” Ahn might have been extremely angry at the governor for this comment. A Web user posted on the governor`s homepage, “The people of the Jeolla provinces feel like they were betrayed by the governor because he is expected to put priority on understanding residents.”

No matter how severe the feeling of betrayal, violence cannot be tolerated. Another netizen who was a Jeolla native posted on the homepage, “We will have to give up democracy if all Jeolla residents have the same thoughts.” A non-Jeolla Web user added, “(President-elect) Park Geun-hye was assaulted with a knife while Park Jun-yeong was attacked by a pro-North Korea follower.”

On Nov. 22, 2011, Rep. Kim Seon-dong of the then Democratic Labor Party (now the Unified Progressive Party) used tear gas in the National Assembly in a first in Korea to oppose the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement. He later said in an interview, “I did it because I felt the same anger that Patriot Ahn Jung-geun had when he shot Ito Hirobumi (the chief instigator in Japan’s occupation of Korea).” Kim, however, drew condemnation for the comment from members of a memorial group honoring the nationalist martyr. The lawmaker knew full well that his act was a crime because he told his staff before the gas attack that he might go to prison for his act. Yet no lawmakers laid accusations against him. When Kim was called by prosecutors after being accused by a civic group, he snubbed their summons eight times. In the end, prosecutors ended the case without detention. This light punishment might have encouraged the water attack on Gov. Park by a member of the same party.

The South Jeolla provincial assembly said an ethics committee will determine Ahn Ju-yong`s punishment. The progressive party’s Gwangju branch said, “The governor must apologize to the people of the Jeolla provinces for saying things that greatly disturbed them and take responsibility for his action." But the water attack was never mentioned. Rep. Kim, who threw tear gas in the National Assembly, has been promoted to senior deputy floor leader of his party. Ahn Ju-yong might have thought he would not be punished for the attack and could even rise in the political ranks. The South Jeolla assembly should send a strong message to him that he lives in a country where democracy and rule of law prevail.

Editorial Writer Kim Sun-deok (yuri@donga.com)