[Hot Interview] Kim Haeng "Not aiming for Jin Joong-kwon's apology, hoping to raise awareness on single mothers' issues"

Fake News Dispute Leads to Heated Exchange Between Professor Jin Joong-kwon and Goseong
Kim "Restoring Honor Is No Longer Important"

Former People Power Party Emergency Committee member Kim Haeng argued with Jin Joong-kwon, a special professor at Kwangwoon University, during a radio broadcast on the 15th. The atmosphere became so heated that the host asked them to turn off their microphones. The trigger was 'fake news.' The two clashed over fake news, and Kim’s remarks from the National Assembly hearing when he was a candidate for Minister of Gender Equality and Family were even brought up. In a 2012 YouTube broadcast, Kim said, "Even in cases of rape, when a woman gives birth to a child, before social and economic support, if we have tolerance that we can all gently accept, I think a woman can raise a child no matter what." At the hearing, opposition members pressured Kim, saying he claimed "even if raped, a woman must give birth." Kim demanded an apology from Professor Jin, who mentioned this at the time, but Jin refused, causing the situation to escalate. We asked Kim.

Kim Haeng, former Emergency Response Committee member of the People Power Party [Image source=Yonhap News]

Why did your voice get louder during the broadcast?

I thought Professor Jin would apologize (on the spot). After that hearing, many media outlets covered it, but it wasn’t the fact. So I really expected an apology. Then there would have been no problem, but he said, "It’s the same thing, isn’t it?" However, the statement "In any case, even if the man ran away or the pregnancy was unwanted, if a child is born, we must accept that child before economic and social support" is completely different from "You must give birth even if raped." I was going to let it go coolly if he apologized. But Professor Jin said it was a "difference in interpretation," so my voice got louder.

Did Professor Jin apologize afterward?

Not even until now. It’s unexpected. I thought Professor Jin would apologize... But through this incident, restoring my honor is no longer important. Getting an apology from Professor Jin is not my goal. I don’t care what happens anymore; I hope this becomes an opportunity to see the lives of single mothers in blind spots and the children born to single mothers. It’s very hard for women raising children alone. I hope people turn their eyes so that the growing children can live without prejudice.

You are known to volunteer at single mother facilities. Could you tell us about that?

As Tolstoy said, happiness has one form, but unhappiness has many forms. Many women give birth alone in unimaginable situations. Many women I met at single mother facilities truly had nowhere to go. Because they become beings accepted nowhere, they eventually think of extreme situations. I have shed many tears with those people in that place. I will work hard to create a society that accepts them well and can treat their trauma in the future.

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