Satirical posters on Moon cover campuses
Posters from the “King Moon Jae-in series” are seen on a notice board at Sejong University in Seoul, Dec. 9. The National College Students' Council posted them at 100 universities nationwide to complain about President Moon's policies. / Courtesy of National College Students' Council
By Jung Hae-myoung
Posters satirically calling President Moon Jae-in a “king” and criticizing his performance have been placed on more than 100 universities' notice boards nationwide, reflecting the prevalent negative perception of his policies among people in their 20s to 30s, predominately men.
The posters, titled “King Moon Jae-in series,” display a sarcastic tone toward Moon's policies on the environment, the economy, North Korea and employment. One subtitle calls Moon the “King of the Economy,” stating, “He ruined small business owners and permanently sacked part-time workers by raising the minimum wage to 8,350 won.”
Another calls him the “King of Donation,” claiming the President “donated” the whole country to North Korea by easing sanctions against it without any promise of denuclearization.
Most of the posters have now been covered up by others, while some student councils at the universities took them down after realizing they were hung without permission.
The posters were made and placed by the National College Students' Council, a name “borrowed” from a progressive student activists' group in the 1980s, which was engaged in the pro-democracy movement. The name is also satirical, because many officials of the liberal Moon administration were part of that group, including presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok and former Korail CEO Oh Young-sik.
A 25-year-old college student, surnamed Kim, who was recently discharged from military service, created the posters and the group with five friends. He said he was angry with a government that was no longer interested in young people's problems.
Experts say such a move reflected the drastic decrease in the President's approval rating among men in their 20s, which was even lower than those in their 60s.
According to a Gallup Korea poll released Monday, 64.1 percent of males in their 20s said the President was “not doing well” in his performance of state affairs ― only 29.4 percent showed support.
According to the poll, the majority of the young men who gave a negative response cited the “inability to cope with economic problems” as the main reason for their choice, followed by 20 percent who disapproved of Moon's North Korea policy.
“Until now people in their 20s were the main support group for President Moon and his administration, but the results show this is no longer the case, and rather they are now against him,” an official at Realmeter said.
“I understand the frustration since many college students feel employment problems are unresolved, but I did not look at the poster that carefully,” said a 25-year-old student at Sogang University, one of the 100 schools where the posters appeared.