People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jae-seop [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jae-seop [Yonhap]

People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jae-seop on Wednesday criticized the Democratic Party of Korea for playing singer Jaja's song "Bus" at its national convention, saying the choice showed blatant disregard for young people.

"How much must they look down on young people — how much must they disrespect youth — to have played that song openly at their national convention?" Kim said during an appearance on SBS Radio. He added that the incident should not be brushed off as a mishap, saying, "It wasn't even intentional, it wasn't even controversial, and yet they did it as if by accident — this is not something to just let pass."

Kim also recalled how a female idol group had once been subjected to a fierce online pile-on after using the expression "museopno" — with critics claiming the word "no" was a reference to the far-right online community Ilbe. "The Democratic Party camp joined in and practically buried them," he said.

He noted that an AI-generated video mocking Rep. Hwang Hee over the "scrapped bus" controversy had become so widely viewed that "almost no one in the country hasn't seen it." Against that backdrop, he said, playing the song and dancing at the convention amounted to, in his words, "giving a big middle finger to young people."

On real estate policy, Kim said the most frustrating thing was that the administration "knows the right answer but is doing something else entirely." He argued that President Lee Jae-myung, when he was a presidential candidate, had already stated the correct approach — pledging not to use taxes to control housing prices, to expand lending and to boost supply.

Kim said he opposed plans to build housing in Yongsan Park in Seoul. "In a city like Seoul, where space is already packed, green areas must not be touched carelessly," he said. "Reconstruction and redevelopment are the fastest and most precise solution."

He added that the government needed to create conditions in which people could actually buy homes. "Public rental housing is about providing a place to live right now — a temporary shelter," he said.

Meanwhile, Kim criticized the party leadership's push to re-elect all local chapter heads, calling it "a disregard for the entire party chapter system" and "a waste of energy in the wrong direction."

"Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok keeps trying, one way or another, to push out those who disagree with him — from the party leadership, from the party itself," Kim said. "Looking at what Jang is doing now, I think it is time for us to seriously start discussing something."


mp1256@heraldcorp.com