GNP chairman Ahn in hot water

 

Series of slips of tongue raise doubt over suitability as party leader

 

Rep. Ahn Sang-soo, chairman of the ruling Grand National Party, is in hot water once again for making improper remarks about women and cosmetic surgery, following his widely ridiculed “thermos” debacle.

 

Referring to women who have not had cosmetic surgery as “naturals,” Ahn said men these days want to be served by “naturals” when they go to room salons, or hostess bars, during lunch with female reporters Wednesday.

 

Ahn said celebrities nowadays were getting plastic surgery done “not just on their faces but on their entire bodies” while speaking about members of a K-pop girl group who joined politicians’ visit to a center for disabled children earlier in the day.

 

“A celebrity I know told me that a female entertainer often spends up to 300 million won ($260,000) a year on cosmetic surgeries,” he reportedly said.

 

“People don’t like too much nip and tuck. (Men) look for naturals when they go to room salons.”

 

Rep. Won Hee-mok, chief secretary to the GNP chairman, even asked each of the female reporters whether they had had plastic surgery.

 

Opposition parties slammed Ahn’s remarks as being demeaning to women and urged him to step down.

 

“Ahn’s words were an insult to all women in the country. Ahn must resign from his position as the chairman,” main opposition Democratic Party spokeswoman Cha Young said, mentioning past cases of sexual harassment by other GNP lawmakers.

 

Minor opposition Liberty Forward Party spokeswoman Park Sun-young called on Ahn to leave politics.

 

GNP spokesperson Bae Eun-hee explained that Ahn was simply citing rumors he heard about excessive cosmetic surgery and had no intention of offending women.

 

Last month, a cable news channel showed Ahn mistaking a thermos for an artillery shell on Yeonpyeong Island a day after North Korea bombarded the border island.

 

In a video clip aired by YTN, Ahn picked up two burnt metal cylinders he found on the island and told reporters they were bomb shells. Rep. Hwang Ji-ha of the GNP who was with Ahn added that the smaller one seemed to be a 76.2mm field gun shell and the larger one a shell from a 122mm multiple rocket launcher.

 

But as the camera zoomed in on the metal cylinder, a trademark logo showed that it was a thermos.

 

The video image drew much mockery and renewed criticism over Ahn’s alleged efforts to evade military duty.

 

The Source: The Korea Herald