The Marmot’s Hole

Uri Party chairman Chung Dong-young is a pretty suave guy, but word got out of some statements he made Friday that were, quite frankly, asinine:

According to the Internet Kookim Ilbo, Chung gave an interview to the paper’s video journalism team held following a press conference at Daegu’s Grand Hotel last Friday. When asked if he would like to say something to young eligible voters, many of whom are uninterested in politics, he said, “Young people were at the center of the candlelight demonstrations, and the future will be the stage of those in their 20s and 30s.”

Jeong continued, “To take this a step further, there is no need for people [in their 60s and 70s] to decide about the future, because they’ll probably retire from the stage soon… Those people may rest at home, or to put this another way, for people in their 20s and 30s, what they decide on now decides the future, so their interests are at stake.”

In today’s editorial, the Chosun comments:

His words can be interpreted as nothing other than that people over the age of 60 have no right nor need to worry about this nation’s future.

In a Confucian society — especially a Confucian society in which old people have the right to vote — Chung’s statements were not only out of line, but stupid. Even he recognized it (albeit nearly a week later after the Kookmin Ilbo reported his statements), which explains his rather full apology — see photo above. Granted, he was in the right province to offer such an apology — I would have gotten a kick out of it if he had visited old folk in, say, Andong and tried to offer an apology there.

Well, I guess the Uri Party shouldn’t count on support from the Silver Right Party any time soon.

PS: Why does the webpage of the SRP have pictures of old white people?

UPDATE: I think the Oranckay will like this.