Jin Joong-kwon "Democratic Party Leadership Protects Yoon Mi-hyang with Activist Mindset"

"Turning Ethical Issues Questioning Moral Qualities into a Judicial Game"
"Considered an Attack on Moral Verification of Candidates"

Jin Joong-kwon, former professor at Dongyang University / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] Regarding Yoon Mi-hyang, the elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who has been embroiled in various allegations including the embezzlement of funds meant for comfort women victims, some leaders within the Democratic Party have defended her by stating that "we must not succumb to personal attacks." Former Dongyang University professor Jin Jung-kwon argued that this is because "the Democratic Party leadership and key figures are not free from the activist mindset."

On the 27th, Jin wrote on his Facebook, "The Democratic Party has turned the ethical and political issue of a public official's moral qualifications into a judicial game questioning guilt or innocence," expressing this view.

He continued, "The question should be whether the elected member is suitable for public office from the perspective of civil society, but the Democratic Party is trapped in a childish fantasy that they are waging a national liberation war against indigenous pro-Japanese collaborators," adding, "They regard moral scrutiny of the candidate as an attack by enemies and believe they must protect her unconditionally."

He further added, "It is pathetic that they are still obsessed with the 1980s era of the National Democratic Youth Union (Jeondaehyeop) worldview."

Meanwhile, opinions are divided within the Democratic Party leadership regarding the various allegations against the elected member Yoon.

Democratic Party leader Lee Hae-chan emphasized at the party's Supreme Council meeting held at The-K Hotel in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, "We must not succumb to personal attack-style allegations against (the elected member)," and stressed, "The 30 years of activities by the Justice and Memory Foundation cannot be used as a tool for political strife, malicious slander, or exploited by far-right groups."

On the other hand, Democratic Party Supreme Council member Kim Hye-young said, "We request a prompt statement from the elected member Yoon," and added, "As a citizen, I feel deeply distressed about the situation where comfort women victim grandmother Lee Yong-soo held two press conferences expressing her anguish."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.