Kang Ki-gap; coolest member of the Kuk Hoe or stark raving loony?

Kang Ki-gap is styl'n on the opening day of the 17th National Assembly (Kuk Hoe) (Yonhap photo)

I saw a picture of Democratic Labor Party (DLP) member Kang Ki-gap this morning and thought to myself "Hey, that dude looks cool." and I was about to do a small post praising him for his fashion sense. Then I did a little research. Check out this from the KTimes:

Meanwhile, Rep. Kang Ki-gap of the left-leaning Democratic Labor Party declined to shake hands with (Outgoing National Assembly speaker) Park even though he attended the speech session. 'It was my expression of a protest against the Korea-Chile FTA bill,' Kang told reporters.

'Even though he didn’t spearhead the passage of the bill, I saw him do a toast with Chilean wine on April 1 when he held a meeting with economy ministers,’ Kang explained. `It is a betrayal to our farmers. So I didn’t want to shake hands with him.’

If I recall correctly, Kang is one of the "peasant" members of the DLP so I won't hold it against him that he wants protect Korea's inefficient farmers from foreign competition even if it means that other Korean workers suffer. That's just politics. But not to shake the man's had is just rude so Kang lost a few cool points with me there.

Then I found out that Kang was one of the instigators of violent protests at a WTO conference in Mexico last year:

A group of South Korean militants earlier used ropes to pull down the barrier after women groups used wirecutters to open holes into the fences.

While organisers urged protesters to remain peaceful about 100 radicals, known as the Black Bloc, came armed with stones, rods and other projectiles, as well as home-made gas masks and shields.

The South Korean militants, among them trade union and farmers representatives, led the protesters in paying tribute to one of their own who stabbed himself in a protest suicide on Wednesday as the five-day WTO conference got under way.

The demonstrators then burned paper puppets representing the WTO as well as an American flag, to chants of "total rejection of the imperialist WTO."

"We pulled down the barrier, we have the power to destroy the WTO," Kang Ki Gap, one of the Korean protesters, said to rousing cheers from the protesters.

I don't know about you but I suspect that the next time there is a scrum on the floor of the Kuk Hoe (and you know there will be), Kang will be right in the middle of it.

So, I was wrong. Despite the fly threads and the copious facial hair, Kang is not a cool guy. He is both rude and backwards looking.

But he does have a nice sense of style.

Comments

[Antti Leppänen]

And now that DLP is choosing "National Liberation" faction types to the party posts, I don't think we can expect much more sensible policies from them. "National Alliance" (of Democratic Unification of Korea, or something) people joined DLP in big numbers, and now they hold a majority of party leadership. (MPs are forbidden to hold party posts.)
And not that Americans would expect any love from DLP anyway, you're going to get it even less, as all of it will be reserved for the brothers. I've recently done a short post of the party elections on my own site.
(And my own sympathetic interest for DLP is changing to caution.)
"Left-leaning"; it's fair to say they are leftist, and this in no red-baiting sense. KT is being too sensitive here.

[The Yangban]

AL,

Its too bad that the DLP seems to be becoming another platform for nativism in Korean politics. I remember that another guy who knows Korea well (Oranckay) once wrote that the DLP the only party in Korea that was actually "progressive" internationally accepted meaning of the word (or something like that).

BTW, I can't believe I haven't linked to you yet. I must be brain dead. I'm going to fix that problem right away.

[Antti Leppänen]

DLP would have great international resources to extend its influence if it developed more towards Western European socialist/social democratic/labor parties, but with this, it will not.
Expect to hear much of banmi and jaju in the future.

[Zdunk]

The beard and hanbok got a chuckle from me right away - cast my vote in the 'stark raving loony' box. "I'm more peasant than peasant, damn it!" - hilarious. Check out the look on the face of the lawmaker who'll be stuck seated beside him for the next two years - Does she look thrilled or wwwhhatt? Kang looks very pleased to be seated besides her, though "Mmmm...one of them got out of the kitchen! I'm repulsed, yet....strangely attracted."

It's as if a British anti-EU politician showed up in the Commons wearing hose, a doublet, neck ruff and feathered cap to prove his "English-ness".

[Paul H.]

Looks like a "bad dude". In this picture a black belt around his middle is needed to complete the "tae kwon do" effect.

So can I look forward to reading here of his future exploits, as he uses his public forum to bravely confront the North Korean political leadership over their less-than-ideal treatment of peasants north of the DMZ?

Somehow I suspect not. Too much work yet to be done about the greater threat of the Americans, yes?

[Scott-in-Japan]

"To complete this legislation, you must touch your tongue to mine."

C'mon, you know he's going to use that line on the honey next to him. And you know he's refers to women as honeys - you know it!

[Turd-Man]

(NOTE: Yangban Edit for language)

(Golly-gosh). Politicians are all the (sweet love)ing same. Left-natured. Right-natured. They don't care about their ideologies. They just care about staying in office. The just care about those 'deals' they make.

[Toolboy]

Nice post. Thanks for the info.

[The Yangban]

Toolboy,

That reads like a spam comment but there no link, so I guess I'll have to keep it.