People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jae-seop holds a press conference at the National Assembly's media center on Aug. 8, calling for the acceptance of an opposition-recommended special prosecutor in connection with the ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections. [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jae-seop holds a press conference at the National Assembly's media center on Aug. 8, calling for the acceptance of an opposition-recommended special prosecutor in connection with the ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections. [Yonhap]

People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jae-seop sharply criticized the Democratic Party of Korea on Tuesday after the song "Bus Ane-seo" ("On the Bus") by singer Jaja was played at the party's national convention, calling it "an open slap in the face to young people."

In a Facebook post Tuesday, Kim said, "They apologize in words and mock on stage," adding that the song selection for the Democratic Party convention's celebratory performance was "a spectacle." "They actually played 'On the Bus,'" he said.

The song drew attention because it evokes the so-called "Bus House" proposal — a widely ridiculed suggestion by Democratic Party lawmaker Hwang Hee that buses be converted into youth housing.

"Young people had been using 'On the Bus' as a meme to laugh at the Bus House farce, and here they are playing it at their own party leadership election, dancing away without a care," Kim said. "It's like picking up the stone young people threw and hurling it right back at their heads."

He also questioned the sincerity of Hwang's earlier apology, saying, "The entire nation let out a hollow laugh at Hwang's absurd idea of fitting out a bus with 50 million won ($35,300) worth of interior work," and that "Hwang himself backed down within days — was that apology ever genuine?"

Kim then turned his fire on the Democratic Party as a whole, saying it showed "a numbness that sprinkles salt on a wound before it has even healed, then sings a celebratory song over it." He added, "And after all this, they'll still ask for the youth vote. If they have any conscience, they should look in the mirror first."

The Democratic Party held its national convention Monday, during which a campaign team performed while attendees waited for vote-counting results. "On the Bus" was played during the performance, and the campaign team danced along to the song.


jshan@heraldcorp.com