'101-Year-Old Philosopher' Professor Kim Hyung-seok: "Moon Administration's Media Pressure Will Make Us Like China and North Korea"

Professor Emeritus Kim Hyung-seok of Yonsei University
Interview with Japan's Sankei Shimbun

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Kim Hyung-seok, a 101-year-old philosopher and honorary professor at Yonsei University, expressed concerns in an interview with Japanese media about the Moon Jae-in administration pushing the Media Arbitration Act, saying, "If freedom disappears and it becomes like North Korea or China, human compassion will also be destroyed."

On the 31st, the right-wing Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun reported on an interview conducted with Professor Kim in July.

According to Sankei Shimbun, Professor Kim, who was born in Pyongyang, North Korea, and graduated from Japan's Chuo University, emphasized that under a communist regime, even family members cannot speak the truth, stating, "Truth, justice, and human compassion disappear."

He said that in China, President Xi Jinping is trying to return to the authoritarian regime of Mao Zedong (1893?1976), and that the suppression of the pro-democracy faction continues in Hong Kong.

He mentioned that the loss of freedom and truth he experienced in Pyongyang over 70 years ago is now happening in Hong Kong, and said it is a great misfortune that authoritarian ideology remains in the 21st century.

Professor Kim also pointed out that unlike North Korea, which excluded pro-Japanese collaborators after liberation, South Korea left them as they were, and that President Moon holds a historical view that is inferior in legitimacy regarding independence from Japan.

Sankei explained that Professor Kim's analysis regarding President Moon's "anti-Japanese tendency" was that he is "obsessed with wanting to be respected as a patriot who fought against Japanese colonial rule."

He also criticized that Korea-Japan relations should move forward into the future, but both President Moon and former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have dragged on the past without resolving it, and neglecting the deteriorated bilateral relations is "taking away the hopes of Korean and Japanese youth for the next 20 to 30 years."

Sankei reported that Professor Kim pointed out no sign of change in President Moon's thinking and mentioned the necessity of a regime change.

Professor Kim expressed the view that the direction of Japan and Asia for the next 50 years will be determined by Japan's choices, and Sankei added that he warned that the Moon administration is thinking it can unify with North Korea by relying on China, but 50 years from now, this idea will be recognized as a great mistake.

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