According to Yonhap News on July 5, Cho Kuk stated on his social media that some people in Busan and Yeongnam support the use of "no" at the end of sentences as a way to mock former President Roh Moo-hyun, claiming that Ilbe users mechanically attach "no" to standard phrases.
He further explained that in the Yeongnam dialect, "na" and "no" are used distinctly, with "na" confirming yes or no and "no" requesting specific explanations. He reiterated his observation that Ilbe users mechanically add "no" to standard language.
In response, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform Party, criticized Cho on social media, saying, "He is trying to validate ideologies based on a single word." He pointed out that an idol from Geoje, Gyeongnam, was stigmatized as an Ilbe user simply for saying "musubno" in his hometown dialect. Despite linguists explaining that "no" is used in various contexts in the southeastern dialect, the stigmatization continues.
Yoon Sang-hyun, a member of the People Power Party, also expressed his outrage on Facebook, stating, "It is shocking to see everyday expressions of exclamations and soliloquies being labeled as mechanical Ilbe expressions. I feel deep disgust at the tendency to use a dialect phrase as a standard for ideological validation and to divide the public."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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