[2022 National Audit] 'Yoon Seok-yeol Train' Ruling and Opposition Clash... "Blacklist" vs "If It's Moon Train, We'll Sue" (Comprehensive)

NP "Recalling the Park Geun-hye Government Blacklist That Threatened Creative Freedom"
DP "If It Were Moon Jae-in's Train, High School Students Would Be Sued, Prosecuted, and Lynched Online"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the second day of the National Assembly audit, the ruling and opposition parties clashed over the controversy surrounding a high school student's satirical cartoon targeting the Yoon Seok-yeol administration during the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee's audit. The opposition party mentioned the 'Park Geun-hye blacklist,' while the ruling party countered that similar 'freedom of expression' issues occurred under the previous administration as well.

At the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee audit on the 5th, Kim Yoon-duk, the opposition party's secretary from the Democratic Party of Korea, raised his voice during a procedural statement before the current affairs report, saying, "It is utterly absurd that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism urgently issued two threatening press releases regarding a high school student's work," and added, "The Park Geun-hye government's blacklist comes to mind again."

A satirical cartoon at the 23rd Bucheon International Comics Festival, depicting a figure resembling First Lady Kim Keon-hee controlling a train with President Yoon's face, won the grand prize. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued a stern warning to the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency, which in turn released a press statement saying it would "hold responsible parties accountable," sparking controversy.

Rep. Kim said, "Did President Yoon Seok-yeol not clearly promise at a luncheon with senior cultural and artistic figures on the 16th of last month during the 'Yongsan era' that 'the government supports but does not interfere'?" and added, "The Democratic Party sternly warns the Culture Committee, which warned the artists."

In response, Lee Yong-ho, the ruling party's secretary, expressed regret, saying, "It is very unfortunate that Rep. Kim made remarks unrelated to the parliamentary inquiry," and added, "There was ample opportunity to ask questions and hear the minister's position during the inquiry, but despite that, you spoke as if the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism was at fault, which cannot be overlooked."

In a subsequent inquiry, Rep. Im Oh-kyung of the Democratic Party stated, "The adults and politicians who created the current situation should reflect," and pointed out, "The satirical cartoon drawn by a student's imagination did not cause social unrest but rather offended the president's feelings."

Rep. Im added, "The cultural oppression reminds us of the Park Geun-hye government's blacklist that intimidated creative freedom," and asked Minister Park Bo-gyun, "Does the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism intend to apologize to the award-winning student, their family, school, and the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency who may have been hurt?"

Minister Park responded, "We pointed out the comics agency that turned the middle and high school comics contest, which has built its reputation on pure artistic sensitivity, into an art exhibition contaminated by politics," and explained, "The Manhwa Contents Agency presented four selection criteria, including 'works with political colors are disqualified,' 'works that damage others' reputations or have political intentions,' and 'works judged to have excessive obscenity are deleted.'"

In response, Rep. Lee of the People Power Party emphasized, "The Korea Manhwa Contents Agency is subject to political and religious neutrality obligations," and added, "Even if we concede 100 times, when the agency submits to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, it states that works damaging others' reputations can be disqualified."

He mentioned incidents such as ▲a Democratic Party lawmaker revealing a reporter's name and personal background over a foreign news report claiming 'President Moon Jae-in is the chief spokesperson for North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un,' ▲the prosecution investigating a poster by the New Progressive Alliance stating 'Income-led growth destroyed small business owners' profits' as defamation of the president, and ▲President Moon filing civil and criminal lawsuits against a lawyer who called him a communist in 2015, pointing out that 'freedom of expression' issues existed under the previous government as well.

Rep. Lee said, "What would have happened if the 'Yoon Seok-yeol train' was changed to the 'Moon Jae-in train,' and the conductor was drawn as First Lady Kim Jung-sook, Chairman Kim Jong-un, activists, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, or civic groups? I expect that the government would have imposed sanctions on the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency, filed complaints and lawsuits against the high school student who drew the cartoon, and there would have been personal information disclosures and online mobbing."

Minister Park replied, "Political expression or defamation of others is a disqualification reason, and we provided sponsorship and named the ministerial award, but in the actual comics contest process, the key disqualification reasons such as political intent, defamation of others, excessive obscenity, and violence were removed," and added, "Why was that removed without consulting us?"

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