Ha Jeong-woo, who has signaled he will run in the Busan Buk-gu Gap by-election, is facing criticism over video showing him rubbing or shaking his hands after greeting voters.
On the 29th, Ha, identified as a former presidential office senior secretary for AI Future Planning, visited Gupo Market in Busan’s Buk-gu district and greeted merchants. Footage captured him appearing to rub or shake his hands after handshakes, and the clips spread quickly online. Opposition figures responded by asking whether he thought voters’ hands were “dirty.”
A former party leader preparing an independent bid in the district wrote on Facebook that he was prompted by a Democratic Party incumbent deputy spokesperson’s on-air remark that “Ha Jeong-woo’s hand-shaking gesture does not affect the overall trend.” He asked whether the party believed it could “disrespect Buk-gu citizens” without consequences.
Park Min-sik, a former minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs who is preparing to run as the People Power Party candidate, said the hands of Gupo Market’s mothers were not “filth” to be wiped away but a “medal” that raised the country, calling the incident an unconscious display of “deep-rooted elitism and arrogance.”
People Power Party leaders and lawmakers aligned with Han Dong-hoon also criticized Ha. Supreme Council member Kim Jae-won said at a party meeting that Ha shook hands with several market merchants and then “shook off his hands as if something filthy had gotten on them,” calling him someone who “treats voters like bugs.”
As the controversy grew, Ha held a news conference at the Busan City Council and denied any intent to insult voters. He said it was his first time shaking hands with “hundreds, close to a thousand” people in a day and that his hand began to ache, leading to an unconscious motion. He added that some merchants shook hands while wearing wet gloves, but said he never acted with that meaning and criticized what he called negative campaigning in politics.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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