People Power Party Representative Jang Dong-hyeok holding a sign that reads, "Jae-myung, fight me instead of high school students." [YouTube capture]

Han Byung-do, acting leader and floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, strongly criticized People Power Party Representative Jang Dong-hyeok on the 9th, stating, "The low-level, vitriolic politics have crossed the line."

Acting leader Han’s criticism is a direct rebuttal to Representative Jang’s recent protest at the site of the June 3 local election ballot shortage, where he held a sign that omitted both the title and honorifics for President Lee Jae-myung.

During a policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, acting leader Han watched a video of Representative Jang holding the sign that read, "Jae-myung, fight me instead of high school students," and condemned the act as "an utterly vulgar and reckless maneuver."

He sharpened his attack, saying, "It is truly unbelievable and even disheartening that someone who engages in such frivolous behavior is the leader of the main opposition party. This is the current reality of the main opposition party," adding, "He is a malicious politician who drags in the head of state to disparage and criticize for his own political gain and survival."

Furthermore, acting leader Han sent a stern warning to the People Power Party, which is boycotting the July extraordinary session of the National Assembly in protest against the Democratic Party's allocation of parliamentary standing committee chairs.

He emphasized, "We cannot just sit by and watch this unjustified parliamentary strike forever," and declared, "There is a limit to our patience. If the People Power Party continues to obstruct operations, the Democratic Party will make a responsible decision and take action to ensure a working National Assembly."

One netizen responded, "Why is this vitriol? To me, it reads as a common suggestion," adding, "Did they ever use honorifics for Park Geun-hye, Lee Myung-bak, or Yoon Suk-yeol? They used derogatory terms and insults themselves, so that level of speech is actually quite polite."