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| First lady Kim Keon Hee speaks during a press conference held by animal advocacy groups at the Press Center in Seoul, Aug. 30. The press conference was held to call for a legislative ban on dog meat trade and consumption. Korea Times photo by Yun Seo-young |
By Lee Hae-rin
Amid ongoing legislative pushes from the two main parties to ban the trade and consumption of dog meat, some ruling lawmakers have named the bill after the first lady, but are now facing a backlash ―- even from fellow party lawmakers.
Rep. Park Dae-chul of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), wrote on social media, Wednesday, "Now is the time to ban the dog meat trade … The PPP's position to push for the legislative ban on the dog meat trade remains unchanged," with the hashtags #KimKeonHeebill and #bandogmeat added in Korean.
Park, who is also the party's chief policymaker, also used the term "Kim Keon Hee's bill" earlier this month to refer to seven pending bill proposals during the National Assembly's general meeting, calling for lawmakers to support the cause.
The use of terminology is attributed to first lady Kim Keon Hee who has made efforts and conducted a campaign to end the country's contentious culture of eating dog meat.
However, the naming issue has drawn disapproval from within the PPP as Yoo Seong-min, a former floor leader of the party, criticized it as bootlicking.
"Those (PPP lawmakers) who have treated the president like a god and flattered him in a genius manner, are now flattering even the first lady," Yoo wrote on his social media, Wednesday.
He also said that he has never seen a piece of legislation named after a first lady, adding that the ruling party is overly conscious of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration to the point it regresses the free democratic country to a communist totalitarian state.
Rep. Hong Moon-pyo, a fellow PPP lawmaker, was also skeptical of the naming move, describing it as "not pure."
In response, Park fired back saying the terminology has already been used by animal advocacy groups and local media. He also cited the "Lady Bird's Bill" of the United States, a piece of legislation for controlling outdoor advertising and the protection of wildflowers, named after the wife of former President Lyndon Johnson.
PPP Rep. Lee Yong joined Park in opposition, arguing that naming a bill after a person is very common and can contribute effectively to its passing by maximizing promotion.
Park Kyung-mi, the former Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson, denounced the bill's name, saying that "an unelected power is taking control over the policy."
Former President Moon Jae-in first mentioned the need for a dog meat trade ban in September 2021 and pushed for inter-ministerial discussions to systematically eradicate illegal activities and end dog meat consumption, she said.
Meanwhile, the two major parties are likely to push for the ban to win the support of swing voters aged between 20 and 30 in the upcoming general election, according to the political circle.
A group of 44 lawmakers from the ruling PPP and opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) launched a non-parliamentary group for the banning of the dog meat trade last month.
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