Yoon Crosses the Line with Hate and Inciting Language While Trying to Criticize the Opposition

"Causes Cancer," "Outdated Leftist Ideology," etc.
Experts Say "Negative Speech and Hate Speech Are Different"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, who has been holding street campaigns day after day, is increasingly raising the intensity of his remarks while focusing on criticizing the government and ruling party. From hateful expressions like "it causes cancer" to provocative terms that divide camps such as "irrational leftist ideology" and "fascist," there are criticisms that his statements go beyond simple negativity and approach "hate speech."

On the 17th, during a campaign in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Yoon urged the public to judge the Democratic Party of Korea, saying, "If we leave this as it is, this party will get cancer and will not be able to properly recover." The expression "get cancer" is interpreted as disparaging actual cancer patients and is classified as a form of hateful speech. It appears that somewhat harsh expressions were used in the process of criticizing the government and ruling party and appealing for support for himself.

On the same day, at a campaign in Anseong, Yoon rebutted the Blue House and the Democratic Party's characterization of his remarks related to the investigation of deep-rooted evils as "political retaliation," saying, "Even in the past, fascists like Hitler and Mussolini were the best at blaming others," and "Covering up their own sins and fabricating uncommitted crimes to incite people is a tactic used by fascists and communists." These remarks can be interpreted as likening President Moon Jae-in to a "fascist" and "communist," implying that political retaliation was committed.

Provocative expressions based on past "camp logic" also appeared. During a campaign in Songpa, he criticized the current government, saying, "They have been stuck in outdated leftist ideology from 40 to 50 years ago, disregarding common sense and living in cliques until now." On the 18th, in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, he also criticized, "People intoxicated with social revolution ideology from 44 to 50 years ago who cannot wake up from their dreams." Yoon continues to use terms based on dichotomous camp logic such as "communist," "leftist ideology," and the previously mentioned "1980s activist groups." While criticizing the ruling party's "divide and rule," he himself is using a "divide and conquer strategy."

Previously, Yoon experienced a crisis due to his strong remarks. At the launch ceremony of the Gyeongbuk election countermeasures committee held in Andong, Gyeongbuk, in December last year, he harshly criticized the Moon administration, saying, "They brought in ignorant third-rate fools and ruined politics, economy, diplomacy, and security all at once. It is a sham government that simultaneously commits incompetence and illegality." This caused controversy. It seems he made extreme remarks to rally his support base in the conservative stronghold of the TK (Daegu and Gyeongbuk) region. However, at that time, Yoon had to face a decline in approval ratings and internal turmoil within the campaign committee due to a series of gaffes.

Usually, during campaigns, stronger remarks than usual are made to rally supporters, but excessively hateful and provocative expressions can have adverse effects during and after the election process. Lee Kwang-jae, Secretary General of the Manifesto Practice Headquarters, commented on Yoon's recent remarks, saying, "Negativity and 'hate speech' are different," and "Using hate speech is to rally one's own support base." However, he added, "A representative example is former U.S. President Donald Trump. Hate politics may be advantageous for winning votes in elections, but the whole world has witnessed that it makes society difficult and pushes it into crisis."

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