Cho Kuk, former leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, said Sunday he deeply regrets that a social media post he wrote about distinguishing Busan dialect from expressions associated with Ilbe — a far-right online community — was used as an occasion to hurt the K-pop group Lisn and its fans.
"I have never mentioned or targeted Lisn in any post, and I have never said that Lisn members are Ilbe users," Cho wrote on Facebook on Sunday.
The controversy stems from a Facebook post Cho published July 5, in which he argued that mechanically attaching the verb ending "no" to questions constitutes hate speech. He drew a distinction between the use of "no" as a natural feature of Gyeongsang dialect and its use by Ilbe users, who adopted the ending to mock the late President Roh Moo-hyun.
The post prompted speculation that Cho was targeting Wonie, a member of Lisn, who had used the expression "museopno" ("I'm scared") in a video on her YouTube channel, sparking a public backlash.
Cho said his intention was "to point out how deeply Ilbe culture has permeated the language of our society and to raise awareness of its dangers." He added that what he found troubling was "the phenomenon in which the Ilbe-style use of 'no,' which originated as a way to mock the late President Roh Moo-hyun, has spread throughout our society without criticism and is being tacitly accepted."
He vowed to "continue fighting against Ilbe culture, which is anti-human rights and anti-humanitarian," while adding that he would "humbly work harder to understand the language and culture of the younger generation."
mp1256@heraldcorp.com
