President Yoon Suk-yeol has made a strong statement effectively targeting the Moon Jae-in administration, calling it an "anti-state force," drawing attention to the background of his remarks. While some analyze this as an attempt to rally conservative forces ahead of the general election, there are doubts about its appeal to the moderate voter base. The opposition has raised critical voices, saying he is "leaning toward the far right."
On the 29th, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "(President Yoon) seems to have made the remarks despite anticipating conflict," adding, "The calls for lifting UN sanctions that have turned South Korea into a country of conspiracy theories are shaking the foundations of South Korea as a free and civilized nation," analyzing the background of the remarks.
In his congratulatory speech at the 69th founding anniversary event of the Korea Freedom Federation the day before, President Yoon said, "Anti-state forces with distorted historical awareness and irresponsible national views have been singing the praises of the declaration of the end of the war." Since the declaration of the end of the war was a slogan representing the Moon Jae-in administration's North Korea policy, this was interpreted as effectively labeling the Moon administration as an 'anti-state force.'
He also attended the Freedom Federation's founding anniversary event for the first time in 24 years as a sitting president. Considering that the Freedom Federation is a representative conservative right-wing organization, this has been interpreted as an effort to rally conservative forces about 300 days ahead of the general election. However, the issue lies in the moderate voters' response to this message. In response to the host's question asking if President Yoon's remarks were aimed at consolidating his support base, Rep. Ha expressed concern, saying, "Politically, in terms of our expansion, well..." implying there could be problems with expanding to the moderate base.
Within the ruling party, there were also voices expressing sympathy for President Yoon's remarks. Shin Won-sik, a member of the People Power Party, said on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' "I agree," adding, "Protecting the lives and property of the people should be the highest value rather than constantly watching North Korea or China over the past five years, and I think former President Moon Jae-in was very inadequate in fulfilling this constitutional priority." He mistakenly referred to 'former President Moon Jae-in' as 'President Yoon Suk-yeol' but corrected himself.
However, the opposition expressed concerns that President Yoon's remarks are excessively leaning toward the far right. Yoo In-tae, former Secretary-General of the National Assembly, said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "He has gone far beyond the limit. That is something that should not be said, and it feels like he is increasingly being captured by the far right." When he first entered politics, President Yoon reportedly wanted to "not belong to any camp," but now he seems to be being absorbed into the far-right camp.
Former Secretary-General Yoo mentioned figures such as Kim Kwang-dong, chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, who caused controversy by calling the compensation for civilian mass death victims around the Korean War period a "serious injustice," and Park In-hwan, chairman of the Police System Development Committee, who recently sparked controversy by calling former President Moon Jae-in a spy, saying, "Seeing that he keeps using people like that, it seems he is increasingly being captured by that side. I feel like he is being sucked deeply into the far right."
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