On the 15th, People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo urged the resignation of Minister of Gender Equality and Family nominee Kang Sun-woo after evidence was revealed that she instructed her aides to clean up a pile of trash.
Lawmaker Joo noted on his Facebook that "What kind of humiliation must Kang Sun-woo have felt while cleaning her personal trash?" and added, "Given that evidence has even been made public, the Democratic Party's Council of Aides must protect and represent the rights and dignity of their colleagues."
Earlier, in a confirmation hearing the day before, Kang responded to allegations that she had instructed her aides to separate waste by saying, "I once brought down what I was eating the night before (food) to eat in the car on my way to breakfast. It was my fault that I left it in the car without finishing it."
However, according to a report by SBS, in messages exchanged between Kang and her aides, Kang said, "I left a box in front of the entrance, so please take it to the local office and get rid of it," to which the aide responded, "Yes, understood."
According to another report, an aide to Kang sent a photo of the pile of trash that Kang had instructed to be cleaned to a fellow aide, saying, "I want to resign." The fellow aide responded, "Could it be Kang (Kang Sun-woo) again?" and Kang's aide replied, "Of course, it's Kang."
In connection with this, Lawmaker Joo stated, "Given that evidence has been made public, the Democratic Party's Council of Aides must protect and represent the rights and dignity of their colleagues," adding, "Other aides from different lawmakers’ offices asked, 'Could it be Kang (Sun-woo) again?' To this, Kang's aides replied, 'Of course, it's Kang.'"
He claimed, "It has also been proven that this is a repeated abuse of power," asserting, "Kang has made the victimized aides seem like strange people and threatened them with accusations, thereby committing secondary victimization."
He said, "Surrounding people who have not personally experienced the aides' suffering have sided with Kang, leading to further third and fourth victimization," and added, "Kang claimed she never intended to take legal action against the aides, but it soon became clear that this was a false explanation."
He further noted, "The remarks about policies from Minister of Gender Equality and Family nominee Kang, who is a master of abuse of power, sounded too hollow," emphasizing that "Since the Park Geun-hye administration scandal, the Moon government dared not even mention fairness in front of the public."
Lawmaker Joo said, "After the abuse of power by Kang Sun-woo, I feel that the Lee Jae-myung government will not dare to even mention protecting the vulnerable," urging, "Step down for the sake of national governance. If it's just a matter of setting up bedding, then that should be done."