This captured image shows a Facebook chat between Rep. Keum Tae-sup of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and a citizen. / Screengrab of Keum Tae-sup's acebook



By Park Ji-won



Ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lawmaker Keum Tae-sup is caught in a controversy for wearing an "I love Japan" T-shirt.



The prosecutor-turned-lawmaker posted Tuesday a captured image of an exchange with an unknown person via Facebook chat. A netizen first sent him a message asking Keum whether he has Japanese ancestry using an ethnic slur, while showing a picture of him wearing a T-shirt with the words "I love Japan" printed on it. Keum, in a reply, lectured him for the slur, "jjokbari" in Korean. "Your profile says you majored in education," he told the citizen. "Is it okay for you to use hate speech?"



The term jjokbari is a slur that was directed at pro-Japanese collaborators during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation. Currently, it is used to belittle a person who says something favorable of Japan or to refer to Japanese people.



His remarks came after Keum posted a photo of him on Jan. 17 wearing the pink shirt which he received from his son as a gift after a trip to Japan. He said: "It is my son's present. This is a gift my son bought for me after traveling to Japan for four days. Thank you son. But I didn't desperately want to have a pink shirt."



He is one of the lawmakers whose bills were focused on improving rights of the disadvantaged such as young people and women.



Responses to his post were divided; some say he was careless as a ruling party lawmaker amid ongoing diplomatic tensions with Japan over radar disputes, while others say it was appropriate for him to take a stance against hate speech.



"Amid escalating tensions between South Korea and Japan, your supporters might think it is okay but people who don't know you well might criticize you for being ignorant about the situation," a user surnamed Park replied to his Facebook post.



"As far as you have that badge, a symbol of a lawmaker, what you think is not that important. What matters are the thought of the people you represent," a user surnamed Jang posted.



Meanwhile, a user surnamed Choo defended him, saying "What is wrong with the T-shirt saying I Love Japan? He did not defend Japan's invasion of Korea nor support Japan during a Korea-Japan soccer game. The problem is the Japanese government's way of dealing with history, but there are many things we need to learn from the country. The key to this issue lies in whether hate speech can be justified or not."

