The Democratic Party's Fierce Attack on Yoon Seok-yeol's 5·18 Message... Heo Eun-ah Says "Collective Shock Is Astonishing"

Yoon's Fierce Attack: "Reminds Me of Jeon Du-hwan," "Pro-Japanese Collaborators Waving the Taegeukgi"
Heo Eun-ah: "Like a Virus Fearing Antibiotics, Reacting"

Heo Eun-ah, member of the People Power Party./Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Ju-hee] Rep. Heo Eun-ah of the People Power Party directly criticized ruling party politicians who have been unleashing harsh criticism against former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's message related to the May 18 Democratic Movement, saying "The collective shock-like reaction is surprising."

On the 19th, Rep. Heo posted on her Facebook, stating, "The Yoon Seok-yeol phenomenon was not created by former Prosecutor General Yoon himself. It is a phenomenon created by the people who longed for fairness and justice after witnessing the Moon Jae-in administration's power-type corruption allegations and the Cho Kuk incident."

Rep. Heo said, "However, the collective shock-like reactions coming from the ruling party?such as a former Blue House spokesperson who associates former Prosecutor General Yoon with General Jeon Du-hwan, a ruling party lawmaker who said the stance on May 18 resembles pro-Japanese collaborators holding Taegeukgi flags, and a former prime minister who claims the spirit of Gwangju means prosecutorial reform?are simply astonishing," adding, "The reactions from Moon Jae-in administration figures to the Yoon Seok-yeol phenomenon are precisely anger, hatred, and fear."

She continued, "Just as criminals fear the police, viruses fear antibiotics, and darkness fears light, these reactions consistently appear despicable," and urged, "I hope you fear not the person named Yoon Seok-yeol, but the people who created that phenomenon."

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

Earlier, on the 16th, former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol delivered a message in an interview with a media outlet, stating that "The spirit of May 18 is the living spirit of the times and the constitutional spirit."

In response, the ruling party launched a barrage of criticism. Rep. Kim Eui-gyeom of the Open Democratic Party compared former Prosecutor General Yoon to former President Jeon Du-hwan on Facebook on the 18th, claiming "Despite the age difference of over 30 years, their appearances seem to overlap a lot."

Rep. Kim referred to the December 12 Incident and the May 17 Coup as a "two-stage coup," saying, "Until December 12, General Jeon Du-hwan did not seem to dream of the 'presidency.' Rather, it should be seen that he launched a preemptive strike against Army Chief of Staff Jeong Seung-hwa to protect the 'Hana Association,' which he dearly loved."

He further claimed that former Prosecutor General Yoon's beginning was also to defend the organization, arguing that just as former President Jeon tried to protect the Hana Association, Yoon had no choice but to attack former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk to protect the prosecution. He added, "Having accumulated justification, he then charged toward President Moon Jae-in, citing the Ulsan mayoral election case, the Wolseong nuclear power plant case, and others," saying, "After 'retiring,' he fully entered the presidential race."

Former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon also criticized former Prosecutor General Yoon in an interview with MBC radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the same day, saying, "It seems too simplistic," and pointed out, "I continue to have doubts about how to explain the prosecution's past investigations that swept through the late former President Roh Moo-hyun's family."

Democratic Party lawmaker Jang Kyung-tae also criticized on YTN radio's 'Hwang Bo-seon's Morning Start,' saying, "I don't want to go as far as to criticize, but isn't it like pro-Japanese collaborators holding Taegeukgi flags? It's a disembodied rhetoric," and added, "the prosecution's anti-human rights and anti-reform tendencies so far are completely incompatible with May 18,"

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