'Only said what he wanted to say and left'
PPP leader targets Lee's social media post as 'pinnacle of hypocrisy'
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok criticized President Lee Jae Myung's policy address to the National Assembly on Monday, saying Lee "only said what he wanted to say and left."
In a Facebook post that day, Jang said the more than 7,000-character speech conspicuously omitted key words. "Real estate, the stock market, farmland — none of them appeared. Neither did North Korea, the Korea-US alliance, public safety or the judiciary," Jang wrote.
Jang added that Lee had not said "a single word the public wanted to hear." "I struggled to sit through the whole thing," Jang wrote. "Was the applause from Democratic Party lawmakers really sincere?"
Jang also offered what he called a three-line summary of the speech: "'I have no idea what I did wrong, and I'll keep doing what I've been doing.' 'I have no idea about the public, and I intend to live however I please.' 'I have no idea about tomorrow — I'll spend everything and go out on Monday.'" Jang then asked, "Isn't this basically a test of the public's patience?"
Jang also took aim at a social media post Lee shared Monday, saying Lee appeared upset that others were invoking Lee's trademark appeal to "political correctness." "He champions 'equality before the law' while pushing to drop his own charges," Jang said. "That is the very pinnacle of hypocrisy."
"When someone else plays golf, it's 'emperor golf.' When he does it, it's 'diplomatic preparation,'" Jang said. "That is the ultimate double standard. As a letter of reflection, it earns an A+. As a critique of others, it gets an F."
mp1256@heraldcorp.com
