Yoon Seok-yeol Makes Controversial Remarks at Jeonbuk University Student Meeting
"If You Live in Extreme Poverty, You Don't Know Why Freedom Is Needed"
Clarifies Amid Growing Controversy: "Not Ignoring, But Trying to Help"
Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, held a meeting with local reporters on the 22nd at Jeonbuk National University in Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do. / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, made a controversial remark during a meeting with university students, saying, "If you are poor and uneducated, you don't know what freedom is." In response, lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo said, "I don't know either."
On the 22nd, when the so-called 'controversial remarks' by candidate Yoon surfaced, a question was posted on the 'Youth's Dream' Q&A board, an online community run by lawmaker Hong. This board operates by having Hong directly answer questions from netizens.
A netizen asked, "How do you view the fact that the candidate (of the People Power Party) keeps making controversial remarks? He keeps being late, makes reckless comments like poor people don't understand the value and necessity of freedom, and says that in the future, there will be job-seeking apps. How little does he understand the world?"
In response, lawmaker Hong replied briefly, "I don't know either. Not anymore." This is interpreted as indicating that there seems to be no appropriate countermeasure against candidate Yoon's repeated controversial remarks.
On the same day, candidate Yoon held a 'town hall meeting' with students at a university in Jeonju, Jeonbuk. When a student asked, "The People Power Party is a party that aims for liberalism, but can people who support laws that infringe on freedom, such as the 'Nth Room Prevention Act,' also be part of it?" Yoon replied, "In liberal democracy, freedom does not mean putting individuals in the same ring to compete mercilessly," adding, "Freedom exists only when there is a certain level of education and basic economic capability, and only then do people understand why freedom is necessary."
He further claimed, "People living in extreme poverty and those who are uneducated not only do not know what freedom is but also do not feel why freedom is necessary for individuals."
Yoon added, "That is why the community helps those in difficulty. Collecting a considerable amount of taxes to share with the needy and to build the foundation of the economy is an essential condition for freedom."
When a netizen asked for his opinion on candidate Yoon's controversial remarks, Hong Joon-pyo, a member of the People Power Party, responded with a seemingly resigned reaction, saying, "I don't know anymore." / Photo by 'Cheongnyeon-ui Kkum' board capture
The remarks about the 'job application (app)' also sparked controversy. When a university student asked about measures for youth unemployment, Yoon said, "There will come a time, possibly before first- or second-year students graduate, when you can install an app on your phone and get real-time information about which companies need what kinds of people." However, the 'job matching app' Yoon mentioned is already being serviced on several platforms.
The ruling party immediately pushed back against Yoon's remarks. Kim Woo-young, spokesperson for the Democratic Party's election committee, issued a statement that day, calling it "an utterly unacceptable reckless remark," and criticized, "Are you saying that if you are poor and uneducated, you cannot be a free person and do not even want to be free?"
He added, "Beyond surprise, I wonder if there has ever been a presidential candidate who made such remarks," and said, "As a presidential candidate who should guarantee the people's freedom and rights, this is an outrageous statement that should never have been uttered."
Amid growing controversy, after finishing a press meeting with Jeonbuk journalists, candidate Yoon met with reporters and explained his 'freedom' remarks. He said, "I am not ignoring those people (the extremely poor), but saying we need to help them," and explained, "If you are struggling to get your meals, you cannot feel freedom. Whether poor or uneducated, to make them feel freedom, we need to guarantee better economic conditions and provide more education so they can appreciate the value of freedom."
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