Jin Joong-kwon: "This is not the Joseon Dynasty... Park Won-soon is not Yi Sun-sin"
On the 12th, one day before the funeral of the late Park Won-soon, Mayor of Seoul, visitors continued to pay their respects at the Seoul City Hall citizen memorial altar. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon, Intern Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] Amid ongoing debates over the sexual harassment allegations against the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, a post comparing Mayor Park to Admiral Yi Sun-sin has sparked controversy.
On the 11th, a user on a pro-government online community wrote, "Is a person's intense life completely destroyed by moral judgment like this?" and asked, "Because of the phrase in the Nanjung Ilgi (War Diary) that 'he slept with a government slave multiple times,' should Yi Sun-sin not be respected? Should we not hold memorial rites for him?"
The netizen's argument can be interpreted as saying that when evaluating a person's achievements, if the 'merits' outweigh, some 'flaws' are not problematic. Similarly, regarding Mayor Park Won-soon, who faces sexual harassment allegations from his female secretary, the claim is that considering his achievements, the criminal allegations should not be an issue.
In response to the netizen's claim that significant achievements negate criminal allegations, former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon sharply criticized on Facebook on the 12th, saying, "Can this even be called a statement? This is not the Joseon Dynasty. Park Won-soon is not Yi Sun-sin. The victim is not a government slave."
He added, "This remark blatantly reveals how the pro-Moon faction and its supporters view the people," and criticized, "In short, in the eyes of the pro-Moon faction, the people appear as slaves."
He continued, "In their eyes, women are seen as government slaves who have the obligation to sleep with them whenever they want... and in reality, it has been like that. We had the Candlelight Revolution, and suddenly we became 'government slaves.' All government slaves across the country, unite!"
Meanwhile, Mayor Park was found dead in the mountains near the fortress wall path located between Sukjeongmun Gate on Bukaksan Mountain and Samcheonggak in Seoul at 12:01 a.m. on the 10th. The funeral hall was set up at Seoul National University Hospital.
Mayor Park's funeral service is scheduled to be held at 8:30 a.m. on the 13th.
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