'Hate posting with your child on display' lawmaker's online comment draws fire

Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the main opposition People Power Party is under fire after referencing a citizen’s child during a heated Facebook exchange, raising questions about privacy and the online conduct of elected officials.

The backlash stems from a post Bae shared earlier this week criticizing Lee Hye-hoon, whose nomination for budget minister was later withdrawn. Bae alleged the former nominee had a controversial past and improperly obtained information through insiders.

A Facebook user responded to the post by telling Bae to “stay quiet.”

Bae then visited the commenter’s Facebook page, where she found photos of the person’s children, and shared a screenshot in response to the original comment. She wrote that the user was “hate posting while displaying photos of (your) children.”

The move triggered immediate criticism, with observers questioning why a political dispute escalated into the public exposure of children who had no connection to the exchange.

As of Thursday, the original comment remained visible on Bae’s Facebook page.

The controversy has drawn additional attention because it erupted just two weeks after Bae co-sponsored legislation commonly referred to as a “cyberbullying punishment bill,” which aims to toughen penalties for online harassment.

Critics say the episode has instead placed the lawmaker herself at the center of debates over privacy rights, personal data protection and responsible online behavior by public officials.

Bae is a second-term lawmaker who entered politics in 2018 after joining the conservative bloc. She failed to win a seat in a by-election that year but entered the National Assembly following the 2020 general election.

Before politics, Bae worked as a television journalist at MBC, joining the network in 2008 as an announcer. During the 2012 MBC labor strike, she initially participated and stepped down from the main evening newscast before withdrawing from the strike and returning to broadcasting. She became a reporter in 2014 and left MBC in 2018.

More recently, Bae has drawn attention as one of the People Power Party lawmakers who publicly supported former Justice Minister and ex-party leader Han Dong-hoon. Han was expelled from the party on Thursday over allegations that his family members had posted defamatory remarks against party leaders on an internal forum.

She has also faced past criticism over her public conduct, including controversy surrounding her attire at the funeral of a veteran actor earlier this month.