"Ansan, Kim Yuna, and BTS Share 'Munpa'... Excessive Presidential Primary Campaign Materials Draw Frowns"

Political promotional material mentioning Olympic national team athletes and the idol group BTS./Photo by Twitter

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Controversy has arisen as supporters of some presidential candidates have created and shared promotional posters using Olympic national athletes and singers. Specifically, there are criticisms that athletes and entertainers who have never shown political expressions are being dragged into political disputes.

On the 4th, a poster supporting former Democratic Party leader and presidential candidate Lee Nak-yeon was shared on Twitter. This poster featured photos of Ansan, the triple gold medalist in archery at the Tokyo Olympics, figure skating gold medalist Kim Yuna, and the idol group BTS, along with the phrase "What do they have in common? They are all Moonpa!"

Below the phrase were a photo of former leader Lee and the slogans "A country that protects my life" and "Munkkul Osori." Both "Moonpa" and "Munkkul Osori" refer to the strong supporter base of President Moon Jae-in. It is known that this poster was created and shared by a supporter of former leader Lee.

Meanwhile, supporters of Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung also created promotional posters using photos of Ansan. This poster included phrases supporting Ansan such as "Ansan, who gave the nation great inspiration, thank you," along with "Lee Jae-myung does it" and "Democratic Party 20th Presidential Primary Candidate."

A photo of female volleyball national team player Kim Yeon-koung with Rep. Park Yong-jin's face photoshopped onto it, posted on Rep. Park's promotional Twitter account of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Twitter

There were also cases where presidential candidates directly mentioned athletes. On the 4th, Democratic Party lawmaker Park Yong-jin’s promotional Twitter account released a promotional image combining a photo of female volleyball national team player Kim Yeon-koung with Park’s face.

It added, "Our women’s volleyball team advanced to the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics," and "Bread sister Kim Yeon-koung is great, but how about red bean bread brother Park Yong-jin?" After the Korean women’s volleyball team defeated Turkey to reach the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics, Park used Kim Yeon-koung’s name for promotion. This tweet has since been deleted.

Governor Lee also mentioned Kim Yeon-koung and posted a message reaffirming his political will. On the 3rd, Lee wrote on Facebook, "Politics is not very different from sports," adding, "You have to cross a river of all kinds of mudslinging and prove your skills without losing your center to gain the deep trust of the people."

Citizens criticized the promotional method that seemed to use athletes and entertainers for political primaries. Netizens responded with comments such as "Did they get consent from the athletes before using their photos?", "Why drag athletes who are just minding their own business?", and "Don’t exploit the efforts of the athletes."

Voices of criticism also came from the political sphere. On the 4th, former People Power Party leader and opposition presidential candidate Hwang Kyo-ahn targeted Governor Lee, saying, "You should just support the national athletes in your heart before the decisive battle. Why do you try to drag them into politics and use them?" and "No matter how urgent it is, please exercise restraint."