Baek Hyunjin "President's Son Receiving National Support Funds... Public's Sense of Deprivation and Anger Is Great"

"Check for Implicit Pressure or Special Treatment"
"Cheong Wa Dae Must Clarify Its Position on Handling Support Funds from Seoul City and Government"

Baek Hyunjin, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Bae Hyunjin, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, criticized the fact that Moon Joon-yong, son of President Moon Jae-in, received national funding nationwide, saying, "The public's sense of deprivation and expression of anger are tremendous."

At the party's Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 21st, Council member Bae said, "Everything Moon Joon-yong does is not managed in terms of how it will be perceived by the public as the son of a leader," adding, "The public saw Moon's Facebook post boasting procedural legitimacy and competence," pointing out this issue.

Earlier, on the 18th, Moon explained in a post on his Facebook, "I was selected for 69 million won in funding from the Korea Arts and Culture Education Service's Art and Technology Convergence Support Project," adding, "Out of 102 applicants, a total of 24 were selected, and 15 projects with amounts similar to mine were chosen."

He continued, "Since this is a field I have worked in for a long time, I put my heart and soul into the application," and added, "It is something to be congratulated on and proud of, but I worry that some might see it differently."

Regarding this, Council member Bae emphasized, "I will raise the issue again at the standing committee in the afternoon," and said, "I do not wish any disadvantage to the president's son, but I will verify whether there was any preferential treatment through implicit pressure."

President Moon Jae-in's son, Moon Jun-yong / Photo by Yonhap News

Council member Bae also raised suspicions about the neutrality of the evaluation process. He explained, "Joon-yong had an in-person interview during the interview process," adding, "As Joon-yong stated, out of 102 applicants, 33 candidates were confirmed for the second interview, and among them, 30 conducted a 15-minute online video interview."

He continued, "The seven judges were private cultural and artistic figures such as general company managers, cultural foundation producers, and standing committee members of research institutes," and claimed, "Would they have conducted the evaluation fairly without any pressure? Not only I but also the public would find this questionable."

He urged, "The Blue House should clarify its position on the president's son repeatedly receiving funding from Seoul City and the government."

Meanwhile, this is not the first time controversy has arisen over Moon receiving funding from the government and local governments.

Previously, in December last year, Moon was selected for Seoul City's 'COVID-19 Emergency Art Support' project and received 14 million won in funding.

When some opposition party members raised suspicions, questioning whether he received preferential treatment, Moon refuted on Facebook, saying, "My work has been recognized even before I was the president's son."

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