[Comprehensive] 'Moon Jae-in Moonbba Cho Kuk Incident Yoo Si-min' Kang Jun-man, All-round Criticism of Moon Administration

"Moon Jae-in Defends Cho Kuk, No Sense of Ethics"
"Yoo Si-min Trapped in 1984 World"
"Moon Supporters Transform into Different People Regarding 'Our Euni'"

President Moon Jae-in [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] Progressive commentator Professor Kang Jun-man of Jeonbuk National University has criticized President Moon Jae-in and his ardent supporters, known as 'Moonppa,' sparking anticipated controversy.

Until now, 'Moonppa' have shown a tendency to attack forces criticizing President Moon Jae-in. When a reporter from Hankyoreh criticized the behavior of 'Moonppa,' they were subjected to abusive comments, leading Hankyoreh to issue an official apology. Similarly, the progressive media outlet 'Newstapa' faced a mass withdrawal of sponsors after critical reports on Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, appointed by President Moon.

Additionally, when a merchant at a traditional market told President Moon that "the economy is bad," the store received a flood of calls criticizing that statement.

In his recently published book, Shopping Is More Important Than Voting, Professor Kang comprehensively criticized social phenomena surrounding the Moon Jae-in administration, including 'the post-election image of President Moon,' 'Moonppa,' the 'Cho Kuk incident,' and 'progressive intellectuals.'

Regarding President Moon, he raised the question, "Did the Moon Jae-in government, which came to power thanks to the candlelight protests, uphold the 'code of ethics' at least at the level of a political consumer movement?"

Professor Kang stated, "He (President Moon) did not keep his promises. He said he would end 'politics of division and conflict' and 'politics of division and hatred,' but instead moved in the exact opposite direction," emphasizing that "the 'Cho Kuk incident' is a representative example."

Regarding the progressive camp as a whole, he pointed out, "Many progressives pose as 'citizens,' but in their personal lives, they live thoroughly as 'consumers,' and even as 'unethical consumers' who use any means necessary for their own benefit. Creating a culture that breaks this duality and hypocrisy is more urgent than lamenting the 'consumerization of citizens.'"

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk [Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the 'Cho Kuk incident,' he said, "When Moon Jae-in did not change his mind, supporters perceived the 'Cho Kuk incident' as the 'Moon Jae-in incident' and joined this unprecedented 'national division war' with the intention of protecting Moon. Although Cho Kuk resigned, Moon did not apologize at all and instead expressed a tender feeling toward Cho, igniting the spark for a second national division war. This is a failure to uphold even the minimum code of ethics," he criticized.

Professor Kang also voiced criticism of Chairman Yoo. He said Yoo is "trapped in the world of September 1984," adding, "Even today, when democratization has been largely achieved, Yoo Si-min remains confined to the clear-cut dichotomy of good and evil from that era. He has revived the organizational defense theory, which argues that movement organizations must be protected from 'enemy' attacks for the sake of the progressive cause, in a democratized society."

The 'September 1984' mentioned by Professor Kang refers to the so-called 'Seoul National University spy incident.' This incident involved Seoul National University students mistakenly detaining and assaulting four individuals, including students from other schools and civilians, whom they suspected of being intelligence agents. Chairman Yoo was also implicated in this incident and served a one-year prison sentence.

On November 19 last year, President Moon Jae-in held the event "The People Ask, 2019 Dialogue with the People" at MBC in Sangam-dong, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the so-called 'Moonppa,' Professor Kang said, "They are a precious asset to Korean democracy and progressive reform," but sharply criticized that "the problem is that they transform into completely different people when it comes to issues concerning 'our Ini' (a nickname for Moon Jae-in)." He also raised the issue of 'pro-government intellectuals.'

He stated, "On the internet, many people call themselves 'pro-government citizens,' and they even demand that progressive media become 'pro-government' as well."

He went on to introduce that when Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl was a candidate, progressive-leaning media outlets that reported unfavorably on him suffered a significant loss of sponsors, but when Yoon clashed with the government, there was a series of apologies for withdrawing sponsorships. He questioned, "Should we laugh or cry at this 'Cho Kuk comedy'?"

He added, "The pressure to demand pro-government journalism seems to have succeeded to some extent. This is because the media and intellectuals are self-censoring out of fear or concern over the swarm of malicious comments attacking them," but asked, "Have you ever seen a good outcome from such power?"

On February 9th, President Moon Jae-in visited a traditional market in Asan, Chungnam, and listened to the plea of a merchant expressing concerns about the difficult economy. Photo by Channel A Capture

In fact, 'Moonppa' have shown collective condemnation toward forces critical of the Moon Jae-in government.

The progressive independent media outlet 'Newstapa' lost about 2,000 sponsors during the last presidential election because it reported on the Moon Jae-in campaign's verification process. Additionally, after President Moon appointed Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, 'Newstapa' faced a loss of about 3,000 sponsors following critical reports on Yoon.

When a reporter from the weekly magazine 'Hankyoreh 21' criticized the behavior of 'Moonppa' on May 16, 2017, saying, "If we succumb to a group that does not seriously discuss the basics of journalism and instead resorts to insults and threats based on emotions, sentiment, and prejudice, that too betrays the fundamentals of the press," they were met with abusive comments and harsh criticism. Eventually, Hankyoreh posted an apology titled 'Apologies to Readers, Shareholders, and Citizens' on its homepage and disciplined the reporter.

Meanwhile, on February 9, a merchant working at a traditional market in Asan, Chungnam, told President Moon, who visited the market that day, "It's like being a beggar. Business is really bad," and added, "What happened? It's getting worse... The economy is really bad." Afterward, the merchant was inundated with calls criticizing his remarks.

He said, "For several days, I started receiving 4 to 5 calls a day with 'caller ID blocked.' I didn't answer, fearing it might be voice phishing, but calls came even at 11 p.m.," expressing difficulties in business. He continued, "Was it so wrong to honestly say business is bad? I'm scared to meet people," he lamented.