“What grade are you in? Tell Jung-woo to call him ‘oppa’—say ‘oppa.’” (Jeong Cheong-rae, leader of the Democratic Party, at Busan’s Gupo Market) The People Power Party on May 3 sharply criticized Jeong for urging a child in Busan to call Ha Jung-woo—his party’s strategically nominated candidate in the Busan Buk-gap parliamentary by‑election and a former Blue House AI future-planning chief—“oppa.”
Jeong made the remark while campaigning with Ha at Gupo Market, addressing a first-grade girl; the exchange was captured on camera.
Veteran People Power lawmaker Seong Il-jong, a three-term member, posted on Facebook that “it’s deeply embarrassing to see a 62‑year‑old Jeong and a 50‑year‑old Ha press a first‑grade girl to call them ‘oppa.’” He added that Ha should give more thought to gender sensitivity if he hopes to serve in the National Assembly.
Yoo Jeong-bok, the party’s Incheon mayoral candidate, and Rep. Ju Jin-woo also shared the video on social media, condemning the incident as inappropriate and saying it should not be dismissed lightly.
Han Dong-hoon, an independent preliminary candidate in the Busan Buk-gap race, wrote on Facebook, “Do the Democratic Party’s Ha Jung-woo and Jeong Cheong-rae not realize their behavior was wrong?”
He asked rhetorically, “Would it be acceptable if two men in their 50s and 60s treated someone’s young child they’d just met this way?”
Park Jeong-hoon, a People Power lawmaker aligned with Han, also called the episode “clear child sexual harassment” on Facebook, sharing a 10‑second clip and sharply criticizing the two.
Meanwhile, Ha bowed deeply—about 90 degrees—to market merchants and sought to confront the controversy over allegedly brushing off hands. Jeong and Ha posed together under an umbrella for photos with citizens, and they even cut raw meat together at a butcher’s stall as part of their campaign outreach. Jeong said, “I visit a lot of everyday livelihood sites, and today I was genuinely surprised. The merchants at Gupo Market welcomed us so warmly.” He added, “Many people here know Ha graduated from Gudok High School. One person said he was a senior of my son. That confirmed the high level of interest in Ha here in Gupo.”
Later the same day, Han Dong-hoon and People Power preliminary candidate Lee Young-poong also campaigned at Gupo Market. Han, in particular, posted photos and videos of his distinctive “navel bow” greeting on social media to set himself apart from Ha.
