[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] On the 19th, Justice Party lawmaker Jang Hye-young criticized President Moon Jae-in's Youth Day commemorative speech, saying it "did not resonate with the heart and felt hollow."
On the 21st, Jang appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and said, "It was a speech prepared very diligently. The speech was well-structured, and it tried to understand the hearts of young people, but unfortunately, it felt like it did not quite reach them."
She pointed out that President Moon repeatedly mentioned fairness in his speech, saying, "The more you repeat something, the clearer the meaning should become, but the more the word 'fairness' was repeated, the more abstract it became. It felt somewhat hollow. That was my honest feeling."
She added, "Even if you want to treat someone well, if you don't know how to do it properly, it can feel a bit uncomfortable. Sometimes, it feels like they treat you more formally instead. I wonder if the government might be somewhat uncomfortable with young people."
She continued, "People are excessively fixated on the word 'fairness' itself," adding, "It's not so much an issue of interpretation but one of empathy."
Jang criticized, "Are all young people feeling that the problem is simply a lack of fairness, or is there a need to talk more about the much more fundamental issue of inequality?"
Regarding the difference between unfairness and inequality, she explained, "'Fairness' is a language of process and rules, meaning that the rules have been properly followed as they should be. Inequality refers to the outcome created through that process. If fairness is about correcting the tilt of the playing field, inequality is more about sensitivity and such."
She added, "Before even entering the playing field, the game is already decided. Which family or parents you are born under essentially determines the outcome of the game before it even starts."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
