Song Younggil Criticizes Yoon Seoin for Mocking Late Baek Giwan: "We Must First Teach Basic Decency"

Song Younggil Criticizes Yoon Seoin's Remarks
"Even Basic Decency Must Be Taught"
Controversy Over Comments on Baek Giwan and Independence Activists

Cartoonist Yoon Seoin. Photo by Yoon Seoin Facebook capture

[Asia Economy, reporter Hur Midam] Cartoonist Yoon Seoin has sparked controversy after making remarks that appeared to disparage the late Baek Giwan, director of the Unification Issues Research Institute. On February 16, Song Younggil, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, sharply criticized Yoon, stating, "It seems we must first teach basic decency toward fellow human beings." Baek, who passed away the previous day, had been actively involved in various social movements in Korea since the 1950s, including movements for farmers, the poor, unification, and democratization.

In a post on his Facebook page that day, Song wrote, "The Republic of Korea is a liberal democracy, but there are times when it is difficult to live as a democrat. We must live alongside people with different views and respect even their freedom of speech. The difficulty becomes even greater when immature individuals, unable to distinguish 'freedom' from 'license,' recklessly spout nonsense," he said.

Photo by Yoon Seoin Facebook capture

Previously, Yoon had shared a news article about Baek's passing on his Facebook page, writing, "The man who said drinking Coca-Cola would rot the national spirit. Did he really devote his entire life to the unification movement?" He added, "The problem is that the unification he sought was not the free unification we envision." He further commented, "It must be a regret for him to have died without seeing the 'unification' he wanted."

Yoon also commented on the same post, sharing articles that referred to Baek as "a great elder of Korea's progressive movement" and "a great star of the democratization movement," and wrote, "What a great figure has passed away. Good grief."

Photo by Yoon Seoin Facebook capture

Referring to Yoon's remarks, Song stated, "Even textbooks record how many sacrifices were made to secure the very freedom that allows such shameless words to be uttered," and added, "It is truly difficult to properly educate immature people who see only what they want and say only what they wish."

He further criticized, "That cartoonist recently blurted out, like a thoughtless child, 'While the descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators have worked so hard, what on earth have the descendants of independence activists been doing?'"

In conclusion, he said, "We should at least have the heart to teach our children to walk the right path, but these are truly difficult times."

Meanwhile, Yoon also stirred controversy last month by posting comments that appeared to disparage the descendants of independence activists.

At the time, Yoon posted a comparison photo of the homes of descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators and independence activists on his Facebook page, writing, "While the descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators have worked so hard, what on earth have the descendants of independence activists been doing? In fact, if you look closely, even 100 years ago, the so-called pro-Japanese collaborators were people who worked hard, while the independence activists were perhaps people who lived carelessly."

When controversy arose, Yoon apologized, saying, "I acknowledge that my lack of expression led to misunderstandings and provided them with an excuse."

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