Park Ji-won: "Choo Mi-ae's apology is like a ghost gnawing on a toenail — utterly insincere"

Democratic Party lawmaker Park Ji-won harshly criticized Gyeonggi Gov. Choo Mi-ae, who has drawn fire over her "fiscal straw" remark on the fire service budget and then over her attitude in apologizing for it, saying her apology was "utterly insincere — like a ghost gnawing on a dead man's toenail." Speaking on SBS radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' on Monday morning, Park said, "If you're going to apologize, do it properly; instead, she got caught on the hook by saying she'd apologize only because she was asked to." He added, "She's already disliked enough — we can neither kill her off nor save her, and our Democratic Party is in the same boat. She apologizes just because she's told to — even hearing that apology leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

The controversy began at the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee audit of the Gyeonggi provincial government on the 13th, where Gov. Choo said of the fire service budget, "The fire service is like the biggest fiscal straw giving us headaches."

On the 17th, Choo visited the funeral hall at Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, to pay respects to the late firefighter Kim Jin-seok, 44, who died battling a paint factory fire, and apologized for the controversial remark. "If my remarks were conveyed in a way other than I intended, I express my deep regret, and since people are asking for an apology, I sincerely apologize with all my heart," she said. Choo bowed her head again on Monday afternoon at the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee audit held at the Gyeonggi provincial office. "I once again offer my deepest condolences and comfort to the bereaved family and the fire service community," she said. "I also sincerely apologize to the firefighters who were hurt by my recent remarks."

Meanwhile, lawmaker Park expressed sympathy with the budget structure Choo had taken issue with. "What Gov. Choo is saying is right," he explained. "Firefighting became a national government function, but all the budget has been handed over to local governments, so there are problems with equipment and the like." However, he pointed out, "As a local government chief, she could have explained those problems point by point — why call it a fiscal straw?"

That same day, the funeral ceremony for firefighter Kim Jin-seok, who died in the paint factory fire, was held in front of the Bucheon Gymnasium. As the ceremony took place, criticism of Choo's remarks grew even louder, and calls are mounting for the burden of the fire service budget to be examined as well.