"Did You Exercise to Receive Special Treatment?" Ha Tae-kyung Criticizes Yonsei University's Admission of Children of Democratic Movement Activists

Rep. Ha Tae-kyung of the People Power Party questioning at the confirmation hearing for Defense Minister nominee Seo Wook held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 16th of last month.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] On the 7th, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, criticized the fact that 18 freshmen were admitted through the 'Democratization Movement Opportunity Equalization Track' in Yonsei University's early admission, saying, "They didn't take to the streets and fight bleeding to receive special treatment. It's shameful and embarrassing."

In a post on his Facebook on the same day, Rep. Ha said, "Didn't we participate in the democratization movement and go to prison to eliminate special privileges and advantages?"

He added, "The democratization forces have recreated a world without special privileges that they tried to eliminate," pointing out, "The democratization movement was in vain."

Regarding this, Rep. Ha said, "It seems very excessive. I also participated in student movements in the 1980s, but it was not to receive any special treatment," and questioned, "Moreover, was there anyone in the 1980s who did not take to the streets to protest for democratization?"

He continued, "The entire generation consists of democratization movement figures," and said, "To put it bluntly, is there anyone who did not participate in the democratization movement back then?"

He went on to say, "However, giving special admission privileges to only some of them is excessive unfairness and cheating," and added, "This kind of unfair special treatment should be corrected by the Democratic Party, which has many former activists from the 1980s."

According to media reports on the day, Yonsei University included people who participated in the democratization movement and their children in the Opportunity Equalization Track (social contribution and consideration) under the Moon Jae-in administration and admitted 18 students. Among the 18 admitted were students accepted into the College of Medicine and the College of Dentistry.

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