Controversies Over Honam Insults and Offensive Remarks... Yoon Camp Official Faces Continuous Criticism

Professor Seomin Sparks Controversy Over 'Honam Belittlement'
Lawyer Kim Soyeon Dismissed Amid 'Offensive Remarks' Controversy
Jin Joongkwon: "Yoon Camp Too Complacent in Verification"

Thumbnail image from a YouTube broadcast hosted by Professor Seomin from Dankook University. / Photo by 'Parasite TV' YouTube broadcast capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Since the launch of the election campaign of Yoon Seok-yeol, a presidential primary candidate from the People Power Party and former Prosecutor General, controversies over personnel appointments have been nonstop. Professor Seo Min from Dankook University, who was hosting the campaign's official YouTube broadcast, became embroiled in a 'Honam disparagement' controversy, while lawyer Kim So-yeon, a recruited member, was dismissed after it was revealed that she had made several offensive remarks last year. Some are expressing concerns, saying, "Isn't this a sign of lax personnel vetting?"

◆Seo Min's Honam disparagement, Kim So-yeon's offensive remarks controversy... continuous scandals in the campaign

On the 31st of last month, Professor Seo uploaded a promotional video for former Prosecutor General Yoon on his YouTube channel, inserting the phrase "Chewing on Hong Eo Jun-pyo for Yoon Seok-yeol" in the thumbnail (the preview screen before playback).

This video featured Professor Seo eating hongeo (fermented skate) with former Prosecutor General Yoon while criticizing another presidential candidate from the same party, Representative Hong Jun-pyo. However, the expression 'Hongeo Jun-pyo' sparked controversy over whether it disparaged the Honam region. Hongeo is used as a derogatory slang term for the Honam region on the far-right website 'Ilgan Best'.

Representative Hong's side stated, "Hongeo, a representative local specialty of the Honam region, has long been used on the internet as a derogatory term for Honam or Honam people," adding, "Professor Seo is hurting Honam people again with slander to rally Yoon's supporters."

They also pointed out, "Although he only received an appointment letter, Professor Seo is a self-proclaimed spokesperson for Yoon's campaign," calling it "defamation of Candidate Hong and a clear disparagement of Jeolla Province residents."

Yoon Seok-yeol, former Prosecutor General and presidential primary candidate of the People Power Party / Photo by Yonhap News

As the controversy grew, Professor Seo bowed his head, saying, "I have committed a grave sin," and announced that he would suspend all YouTube activities for the time being.

Professor Seo is a commentator who publicly supports former Prosecutor General Yoon. He conducted the 'Seokyeol Hyung TV' broadcast on Yoon's official campaign YouTube channel and actively promoted him. Concerns are rising that the controversy surrounding Professor Seo could spill over to former Prosecutor General Yoon himself.

This is not the first time Yoon's campaign has been embroiled in personnel controversies. The campaign recruited lawyer Kim So-yeon on the 26th of last month, appointing her as Deputy Head of the Organization Headquarters 1, but dismissed her on the 2nd, just a week later.

Lawyer Kim has previously been involved in several offensive remarks controversies due to her harsh criticisms. During last year's Chuseok holiday, she caused a stir by hanging a banner in downtown Daejeon with the phrase "The Moon is in the military prison." Due to this issue, Kim voluntarily resigned from her position as the People Power Party's district committee chairperson at the time. In July, she was disciplined for calling Lee Jun-seok, the People Power Party leader, a "X-shin" (a Korean profanity).

◆Jin Joong-kwon: "Seo Min is too extreme to handle... Yoon's campaign has vetting issues"

Given the situation, some are criticizing Yoon's campaign for being negligent in personnel vetting.

Former Dongyang University Professor Jin Joong-kwon appeared on CBS Radio's 'Hanpan Seungbu' on the 3rd and said, "Having someone like Professor Seo close to Yoon's campaign itself shows a very lax vetting process."

He added, "(Professor Seo's) views are very extreme, and even we couldn't handle it," explaining, "At some point, we decided we couldn't continue together, so we parted ways, but it seems there is a problem with the vetting process."

Concerns were also voiced within the party. Representative Lee, in an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' last month, said about former Prosecutor General Yoon, "This kind of issue-making should not continue," and pointed out, "Yoon's campaign is under pressure to give immediate answers rather than accurate confirmations, and Yoon himself seems to need to manage his messaging better."

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