Seoul Mayoral Candidates Simultaneously Criticize 'Moon Jun-yong'... "Intoxicated by Privilege Anesthetic" (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Criticism from opposition Seoul mayoral candidates poured in regarding Moon Jun-yong, son of President Moon, receiving 14 million won in COVID-19 support funds for artists despite his exhibition being canceled.

Kim Seon-dong, former Secretary-General of the People Power Party and a declared Seoul mayoral candidate, criticized on Facebook on the 22nd, saying, "Moon Jun-yong, how can you be so confident?"

He pointed out, "The father (President Moon) pledged equality of opportunity, fairness of process, and justice of outcome to the people in his inauguration speech, but as soon as the administration began, all of these disappeared," adding, "Opportunities are only for us, processes are only for us, and outcomes are at our discretion."

Kim, the former Secretary-General, questioned, "Moon Jun-yong, do you think you held an exhibition in the heart of the city with the same opportunities, the same process, and the same results as our youth and struggling artists?" He urged reflection, criticizing, "You are nothing but the son of a crazy president who has been 'anesthetized by privilege.'"

Earlier, Lee Hye-hoon, former People Power Party lawmaker and also a declared Seoul mayoral candidate, criticized that it would be better if Moon returned the support funds. On the 21st, Lee raised suspicions about the fairness of the selection process, criteria, and procedures through Facebook, stating, "Even in the visual arts category where Moon was selected, only 46 out of 281 applications were chosen, meaning 84% of affected artists received no support."

He explained, "Seoul City stated that the support was selected based on three exhibition cancellations due to COVID-19, the appropriateness and validity of the project, and that qualitative damages were emphasized over quantitative facts," and criticized, "The city's response that qualitative damages were prioritized usually indicates that subjective judgments by the judges, which are difficult to explain with objective data, were heavily involved."

Lee emphasized, "Support for COVID-19 affected artists was an urgent injection of public funds considering the nature of the arts field, where many artists struggle to make ends meet and the sector was severely hit by COVID-19," pointing out that 84% of artists in the visual arts category where Moon was selected received no support. He also highlighted that Moon received the highest amount per case (6 million to 14 million won).

He demanded, "To resolve public suspicions about whether Moon's selection was appropriate in terms of procedures and criteria, Seoul City should disclose specific details such as evaluation criteria, scoring, grounds, status of rejected similar victims, reasons for rejection, and evidence." He added, "For example, regarding the 'three canceled exhibitions' cited as grounds for Moon's support, it is necessary to disclose detailed information such as the titles, content, venues, and schedules of each planned exhibition."

Lee pointed out, "One of the three canceled exhibitions, known as 'Beyond the Gaze, Somewhere in Between,' is currently being held at Geumsan Gallery," and said, "Usually, exhibitions with the same title but completely different content are not held, so it is highly likely that the exhibition that was canceled and for which support was received is the same. If so, wouldn't it be appropriate to return the COVID-19 support funds already received?"

In response, Moon posted on Facebook, stating, "Because of COVID-19, I can't do nothing, so I have to do at least that, shedding tears of blood trying to sell even one piece," and rebutted, "I think there is a misunderstanding; the 14 million won COVID support fund is not money given to the artist as income but money used by the artist for exhibition and artwork production."