Baek Hyunjin asks Moon Junyong, "Was there no pressure on the judges?"
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Moon Joon-yong (38), son of President Moon Jae-in, faced allegations of fairness from opposition parties after being selected for a 69 million KRW grant from the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service's Art and Technology Convergence Support Project. In response, Moon stated on the 21st, "Would they select me just because I am the president's son?"
In a post on his Facebook that day, Moon said, "If Representative Bae Hyun-jin were judging, would she select me just because I am the president's son? Even if I had no skills?"
He added, "If I were scored abnormally high, wouldn't the other judges notice?" and "On the contrary, someone like you, Representative, might reject me even if I had skills. Does that upset you?" He continued, "You are currently insulting those who have worked hard for days to ensure a fair evaluation," criticizing her.
Earlier, at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, Supreme Council Member Bae raised concerns about fairness regarding Moon’s selection as a recipient of the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service support project, saying, "(The judges) directly interviewed the president’s son via video; could they really conduct the evaluation fairly without feeling any pressure?"
She mentioned, "Out of 102 applicants for the grant, 33 were confirmed for the second interview, and among them, 30 had a 15-minute online video interview with seven judges," adding, "The seven judges involved are department heads at private companies, producers at cultural foundations, and full-time researchers at research institutes, all affiliated with private corporate foundations in the culture, arts, and sports sectors."
She continued, "We do not wish any disadvantage to the president’s son, but we will thoroughly verify whether any implicit pressure led to preferential treatment."
Meanwhile, Moon had announced the grant selection on his Facebook on the 18th. He said, "Art and technology convergence is a field I have worked in for a long time, so I applied with great care. Being selected for this project is a great honor, and my profession is evaluated based on such achievements," adding, "It is something to be congratulated and proud of, but I worry that some might view it differently."
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