Kim Moon-soo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who sparked controversy by saying he would grant 'birth bonuses' to women, resigned from his position as deputy head of the party's central election campaign headquarters on the 13th.
On the same day, Kim posted an apology on Facebook, stating, 'I apologize to everyone who was angered by my incorrect perception and inaccurate information.'
He continued, 'The Democratic Party and the campaign headquarters confirmed that they have not reviewed the birth bonus system at all,' and said, 'I will take responsibility for this incident and step down from the position I held in the overall election strategy headquarters.'
It has been reported that Kim responded to a supporter's text message complaining that 'there are no policies for women' by saying, 'Women will have birth bonuses and military bonuses. Men who did not serve in the military will not have military bonuses. This is not a gender issue,' which led to further controversy.
Earlier, the Democratic Party announced the 10 key policy pledges of presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung; among them, reflecting military service experience in salary scales was included, but there were no policy pledges for women. This sparked backlash, particularly among the female support base.