Yoon Seok-yeol: "The extremely poor and uneducated do not even know what freedom is"

"Not Ignoring but Helping"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, stated, "People living in extreme poverty and those who are uneducated not only do not know what freedom is, but also do not feel the necessity of freedom for individuals."

On the 22nd, at a university town hall meeting held at Choi Myung-hee Hall, Jeonbuk National University, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Yoon responded to the question, "'You said that even if 99 things differ, if one thing is the same, the regime change is together. Will you also work with people who infringe on liberalism, such as supporting the 'Nth Room Prevention Act'?" He said, "Freedom cannot be protected by me alone. When a powerful person oppresses or there is an external intrusion that does not respect freedom, we must unite to protect it. The essence of freedom exists only when there is a certain level of education and basic economic capability, and only then can one understand what freedom is and why it is necessary."

He continued, "Therefore, I believe that helping those in difficulty within the community together, and distributing the products produced in that society through the market, but collecting a considerable amount of taxes to share with the disadvantaged and providing them with education and economic foundations, is an essential condition for freedom."

This statement appears to emphasize the point that individuals need the support of the state to enjoy freedom. However, it is likely to cause controversy as it can be interpreted as a derogatory remark implying that "poor people do not know freedom."

After the event, when reporters continued to ask questions, Yoon explained, "I am not ignoring those people; it means we need to help them," adding, "To make them feel freedom, better economic conditions must be guaranteed for them, and they should be able to receive more education so that they can appreciate the value of freedom."

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