Lee Cheol-hee: "Moon Jun-yong is Already a World-Class Artist... No Special Privileges in National Funding"

"Recognized as 'Skilled Person' Even in the Industry"
"Should the President's Son Just Breathe?"
"Controversy Is a Kind of Basic Right, a Human Rights Violation"

Lee Cheol-hee, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Blue House / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] Regarding Moon Jun-yong, the son of President Moon Jae-in, being selected as a recipient of government support funds, Lee Cheol-hee, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Blue House, stated that he is a "world-recognized artist" and argued, "It is unfair to say there is a 'problem' just because he received national support funds."

On the 25th, Lee appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and said that Moon's receipt of the support funds "is not a special favor."

He added, "Jun-yong's skills have already been verified," emphasizing, "If you ask the industry or look at the awards he has received, it is acknowledged that he is a 'talented person.'"

He further pointed out, "Why is it controversial that such a person participates in contests and gets selected? It is a kind of violation of basic rights and human rights. Should the president's son just stay silent and not even breathe?"

President Moon Jae-in's son, media art artist Moon Jun-yong / Photo by Yonhap News

Regarding suspicions that Moon received a kind of 'special favor' because he is the president's son, Lee called it "an old-fashioned notion," stating, "If the president's son does something, the premise is that he used presidential power. It would make sense if there was any evidence that the president intervened, but there is none, right?"

Earlier, Moon announced on the 18th that he had been selected as a recipient of government art support funds. On that day, he said, "I was selected for 69 million KRW in support from the Korea Arts and Culture Education Service's Art and Technology Convergence Support Project," adding, "It is something to be congratulated and proud of, but I am worried that some might see it differently."

In response, suspicions of special favors arose in some political circles.

On the 21st, Bae Hyun-jin, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, criticized at the party's Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly, saying, "Everything Moon Jun-yong does is not managed in terms of how it appears to the public as the leader's son," and "The public has seen Moon's Facebook posts boasting procedural legitimacy and skills."

She added, "We will raise the issue again at the standing committee in the afternoon," emphasizing, "We do not wish any disadvantage to the president's son, but we will check whether he received special favors through implicit pressure."

Bae Hyunjin, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party. Photo by Yoon Dongju doso7@

Council Member Bae also raised doubts about the neutrality of the evaluation process. She explained, "Jun-yong had a face-to-face interview during the interview process," and "As Jun-yong stated, among 102 applicants, 33 were selected for the second interview, and 30 of them had a 15-minute online video interview."

She continued, "The seven judges were private cultural and artistic figures such as general company managers, cultural foundation producers, and research institute standing committee members," and argued, "Would they have conducted the evaluation fairly without any pressure? Not only I but also the public would find it suspicious."

Meanwhile, Moon has previously sparked controversy for receiving support funds from the government and local governments.

Last December, Moon was selected for Seoul City's 'COVID-19 Emergency Art Support' project and received 14 million KRW. When the opposition party raised suspicions of 'special favors,' Moon wrote on Facebook, "My work has been recognized even before I was the president's son," rebutting the claims.