[Insight & Opinion] President Yoon Seok-yeol's "Aori Apple"

Agitation Through Rumors Fuels a Vicious Cycle of Politics of Hatred
Rational Criticism Must Be Distinguished from Fabricated Agitation

[Asia Economy] President Yoon Seok-yeol, upon seeing Aori apples at a mart, asked, "Do these turn red?" Critics of President Yoon mocked and criticized him all day, claiming he did not even know that Aori apples are green apples. A poet sarcastically wrote on Facebook, "Is Aori a skate fish? Season it and make it red? Life for the people is really exhausting," and thousands of people shared the pleasure of mockery by liking the post.

I was curious whether Aori apples actually turn red, so I searched. There were explanations that they turn red as they ripen over time. Photos of Aori apples that had turned red were posted. Thus, President Yoon’s comment was not strange after all.

There was also a commotion surrounding a woman standing side by side with President Yoon and First Lady Kim Geon-hee at the Liberation Day celebration. Criticism flooded in, saying, "Isn't she the aide who went to Bongha Village with the First Lady?" and "Do they openly hang out with an unofficial aide like that?" The only basis for these accusations was the large physique of the woman. However, she was not an aide to the First Lady but the great-granddaughter of an independence activist.

Although the elections ended long ago, scenes of uproar continue over ‘rumors’ that are not based on facts, as if a major crisis had occurred.

Whether true or not, when such issues arise online, many media outlets churn out sensational online articles with provocative headlines. Even if later proven baseless, the effect of the rumors has already been largely achieved.

We remember the dark history when rumors swayed the political landscape. In 2008, candlelight protests erupted due to the ‘mad cow disease rumor.’ However, even after 15 years, not a single person has contracted mad cow disease from eating American beef. We now eat American beef comfortably at restaurants and at home without discrimination.

After the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014, the ‘deliberate sinking theory’ gained traction. But after nine investigations and inquiries by state agencies over eight years, the ‘deliberate sinking theory’ was proven to be an unprovable conspiracy theory.

In the past, conservative governments tried to escape crises by fabricating conspiracies such as pro-communist plots. Such acts of deception were regarded as exclusive to conservative political forces. However, at some point, the Democratic Party of Korea and some of its supporters began frequently using falsehoods and fabrications as weapons for agitation. Rumors like ‘saengtaetang’ (raw fish soup) and ‘Julie’ that appeared during the last election were part of this trend.

The Yoon Seok-yeol administration has committed many mistakes that go against public sentiment. It deserves stern criticism for causing approval ratings to plummet to the 20% range within 100 days. However, fabricating and spreading false information to spread hostility and hatred toward the administration is an entirely different matter. Criticism based on facts is legitimate, but fabricating lies is vile agitation.

American journalist Sally Kohn points out in her book Why We Hate the Opposite Side that "the fundamental root of hatred is the superiority that cunningly denies the humanity of others while pretending to be pious and elevating ourselves."

Our collective sense of superiority that we are always right and just, and that they are always wrong and bad, breeds such politics of hatred.

Criticism based on reason and rationality can open the ears of others and bring about change. But agitation fueled by hatred closes ears and breeds ‘revenge of hatred.’ This traps us in an endless vicious cycle of hateful politics. It has long been the responsibility of citizens to distinguish between ‘criticism’ and ‘rumors.’ Truly ‘awake citizens’ are those who can discern this.

Yoo Chang-sun, Political Commentator & PhD in Sociology

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