Used to criticize Moon administration even in scholar days
Im Jong-seok, planner of 'Korean Peninsula Peace Process'
"If sympathizing with North Korea leads to communist takeover, will be the first target for purge"
Former Blue House Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok's acceptance of the 'two-state theory' has stirred continuous controversy in the political sphere. Senior government officials have also begun to voice criticism. Minister of Unification Kim Young-ho invoked the idiom 'useful idiots.' In his writings from his academic days, the context implied that those who sympathize with North Korea will eventually be purged by North Korea.
On the 25th, a day before, Minister Kim delivered a greeting at an event, stating, "There are people in some parts of our society who take on the role of cheerleaders, leading and responding to North Korea's anti-unification and anti-national acts," and added, "We have witnessed through history cases where ignoring universal values such as freedom and human rights has led to becoming 'useful idiots'." This was aimed at former Chief Im, who recently argued for 'not pursuing unification.'
'Useful idiots' is a well-known expression coined by Vladimir Lenin, the former supreme leader of the Soviet Union. It mocked the misjudgment of Western politicians and intellectuals who responded to Soviet propaganda and agitation. It meant that sympathizing with the Soviet Union helped overthrow liberal democratic systems. Nowadays, it is mainly used to criticize left-wing intellectuals who sympathize with socialism despite knowing the problems inherent in communism.
Minister Kim has previously used the term 'useful idiots' when criticizing the left-wing camp, including former Chief Im. In August 2020, during his academic tenure as a professor at Sungshin Women's University, he published an article titled 'Useful Idiots in South Korea Must Accurately View the Reality of North Korea' in the monthly magazine Gosi-gye. This was during the Moon Jae-in administration, when former Chief Im was planning the 'Korean Peninsula Peace Process' and the Democratic Party was pushing the law banning North Korean leaflets.
In that article, Minister Kim criticized, "Western European politicians and intellectuals who responded to Soviet propaganda and agitation (omitted) failed to realize that they would become 'No. 1 purge targets' when their countries were communist," and added, "There are fools who repeat North Korea's claims, dividing Korean society and undermining security, but when Korea is subverted with their sympathy for North Korea's overthrow efforts, they will become the No. 1 purge targets by North Korea."
A contribution by Kim Young-ho, Minister of Unification, during his tenure as a professor at Sungshin Women's University, published in the August 2020 issue of Monthly Gosi-gye. [Image source=Monthly Gosi-gye]
He described Korean politics as three-dimensional, combining domestic and international concepts with North Korea's underground politics. The examples of 'useful idiots' he cited were the Moon Jae-in administration's North Korea policies and the push for the law banning North Korean leaflets.
Minister Kim Young-ho criticized, "With the demolition of the Kaesong Inter-Korean Joint Liaison Office building, the Moon Jae-in administration's 'Moonshine Policy' met a disastrous end," and said, "It was fundamentally wrong for South Korea, a party to the North Korean nuclear issue, to act as a mediator and run errands internationally as 'Kim Jong-un's chief spokesperson'." He also pointed out, "It is problematic that North Korea has no intention of giving up its nuclear weapons, yet it is being propagated as if there is a possibility."
In particular, he noted, "When Kim Yo-jong demanded the cessation of leaflet distribution, the South Korean National Assembly busied itself passing a law banning leaflet distribution," and criticized, "At this point, it is hard to distinguish whether it is the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea or the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea." He continued, "Defectors have the freedom and right to send information to North Korean residents," and said, "Passing an unconstitutional law banning leaflet distribution is something only 'useful idiots' would do."
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo also, in a meeting with reporters the previous day, questioned, "Is faithfully accommodating North Korea's demands our security?" He added, "I do not want to comment on the views, but our government considers them not worth any consideration at all."
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