Park Moonseong Joins Jaemyung Lee's Asan Campaign and Declares Support
"In soccer, if you play dirty, you get sent off"
"I don't want to think about December 3... It's time to give the red card"
Moonseong Park, a well-known soccer commentator, publicly announced his support for Jaemyung Lee, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, on May 25. Park joined Lee's campaign rally in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, and stated, "I support candidate Jaemyung Lee," citing four reasons for his endorsement. As his first reason, he said, "This is connected to the question of why we are holding the election so early. Many people, including myself, have lived through the most difficult six months of our lives," and added, "December 3 of last year is a date I don't even want to think about. On that day, which was unimaginable and should never have happened, we witnessed an illegal martial law."
Park continued, "In soccer, if you do something wrong or play dirty, you get sent off. If you are sent off, you should not play not only in that match but also in the next one," and argued, "But they keep coming back. Now, June 3 is the time for us, the voters, to give them the 'final red card' and send them off."
As his second reason, he said, "You cannot change the world with hate," and explained, "If you hate, if you resent someone, if you hold grudges, or if you try to divide people, you cannot persuade others or change the world. The basic principle of fair play in soccer is respecting your opponent. It is about acknowledging the other side. Only then can you truly play and enjoy soccer."
Park then asked, "Who is using the language of hate? Who is using the language of resentment? Who is dividing people?" and continued, "Who is the candidate talking about unity? Who is the candidate urging us to move forward? Who is the candidate talking about the future?" In response, supporters chanted "Jaemyung Lee."
As his third reason, Park pointed to "the competence of candidate Jaemyung Lee," mentioning Lee's efforts to clean up valleys during his tenure as governor of Gyeonggi Province. He said, "Many citizens had long asked for a solution to that issue," and added, "Many mayors and governors promised to solve it, but none succeeded. Who was the candidate who finally solved that long-standing and difficult problem?" drawing cheers from the crowd.
For his final reason, Park said, "It is to be a father my children can be proud of." He explained, "Even when I appeared before the National Assembly last year over issues with the Korea Football Association, I found the courage because I wanted to be someone my children would not be ashamed of," and added, "I came here today to keep the promises I have always made to my children. I wanted to show them that their father can come forward bravely and speak out."
Last September, Park drew attention for his strong criticism of Monggyu Chung, president of the Korea Football Association, over the management of the national soccer team. He appeared as a witness at a National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee hearing and, sitting next to President Chung, declared, "The KFA does not care about public opinion," and "The Monggyu Chung regime must come to an end." He also pointed out various administrative and operational problems within the KFA, urging, "This closed organization must be opened up," which led to him being called "Activist Moonseong Park" for a time.
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