'Subsidy Controversy' Moon Jun-yong "I am One of the People" vs Bae Hyun-jin "Are You Scared?" Heated Exchange (Summary)

Baek Hyunjin Demands "Stop Forcing It and Attend the National Audit"
Moon Jun-yong Responds, "No Point Talking... Would They Elect Me If I Had No Skills?"

Moon Joon-yong, artist and son of President Moon Jae-in (left), Bae Hyun-jin, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Joo-hee] Regarding the controversy over alleged favoritism surrounding the selection of artist Moon Jun-yong, son of President Moon Jae-in, for art support funding, Bae Hyun-jin, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, and Moon have been engaged in a war of words for several days.

On the 22nd, Council member Bae wrote on her Facebook, "Even though his father is the head of the executive branch, Moon Jun-yong seems to not really understand what a 'National Assembly audit' is and appears to be intimidated, so I will explain it." She began, "A National Assembly audit is a session to review the budget and projects executed by the government over the past year, essentially overseeing the government's finances. It is a place to check whether the budget was properly spent on behalf of the people, like examining a household ledger."

Earlier, Council member Bae raised suspicions of favoritism regarding Moon’s selection as a recipient of the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service (KACES) 'Art and Technology Convergence Support Project' funding and requested that Moon appear at the National Assembly audit.

Bae explained, "The 69 million won that Moon Jun-yong received this time from KACES is part of the national tax budget that was significantly increased under the 'Moon Jae-in New Deal.' KACES is an agency I must oversee as part of my duties."

She continued, "Stop making excuses just because he is the president’s son, and confidently contribute as a witness to clarify whether the budget execution process was fair," adding, "This is a good opportunity to help your father who advocated for 'equal opportunity, fairness in process, and justice in results.'"

She also said, "I found it cute how you wrote your Facebook post in a conversational style as if you had talked to me on the phone, but you do know that this is spreading false information that Moon Jun-yong likes, right?" and urged, "You should remove or delete it promptly. Let’s meet soon at the National Assembly audit."

Baek Hyun-jin, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party. / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, when Council member Bae demanded Moon’s attendance at the audit, Moon responded on Facebook, "Being the president’s son means I am just one of the people whom the police can arrest anytime if they are wrong, and whom lawmakers can summon to the audit anytime if they feel displeased," adding, "The fact that a lawmaker can summon me to the audit without any grounds is proof that there can be no favoritism toward me."

Moon then posted a dialogue-style message: 'Moon: Do you think you would drop me even if I am capable?' 'Bae: Yes. Even if you have done nothing wrong, if you are asked to come to the audit, you must come.' He criticized Council member Bae, saying, "Oh dear. We just don’t understand each other."

Their war of words began the previous day (the 21st) when Council member Bae raised suspicions of favoritism regarding Moon’s funding selection. Moon himself announced the funding selection on his Facebook on the 18th.

At the party’s Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Council member Bae said, "The public will be suspicious whether the judges conducted the review fairly without any pressure," and added, "I do not wish any disadvantage to the president’s son, but I will thoroughly verify whether there was implicit pressure leading to favoritism."

In response, Moon immediately retorted, "If Council member Bae were the judge, would she select me just because I am the president’s son? Even if I have no skills?" He added, "On the contrary, someone like you would probably drop me even if I am capable. Are you upset? Why do you keep baselessly fostering such distrust?"

Meanwhile, Moon was also embroiled in a controversy over favoritism last December when he was selected for the 'COVID-19 Emergency Art Support' project and received 14 million won from the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

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