ED Step down from candidacy
Kim Jun-hyuk, a candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea, running in Suwon Jeong district, greets voters at an apartment complex in his district in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. Yonhap.
DPK should dismiss Kim for reckless, sexist remarks
Politicians have long been the prime target of public antipathy and cynicism in practically every country and Korea is no exception.
This may be attributed to their tendency of prioritizing private interests despite expectations for their contribution to the public good. Worse still, recently, many candidates running for the general elections this April have perplexed the public, further fanning distrust against politicians.
Kim Jun-hyuk, now a candidate of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), has come under a barrage of criticism for his seemingly reckless and sexist remarks mainly against women. It is shame a professor of history made such claims and even used vulgar language. Students tend to believe what teachers tell them. As a result, we feel sympathy for the students who were taught by such an underqualified professor. Kim managed to snatch the DPK ticket for the Suwon Jeong constituency, apparently due to his shameful book, “Letters from King Jeongjo to Lee Jae-myung,” the chairman of the DPK.
The book was largely meant to compare Lee to Jeongjo, who is regarded as one of the greatest kings of the Joseon Dynasty. It is apparent that Kim might have attempted to use his book to curry favor with the DPK chairman to obtain the party ticket in the lead-up to the parliamentary elections. Appearing on a YouTube channel in 2022, Kim claimed, “Helen Kim, the inaugural president of Ewha Womans University had college students sexually serve then U.S. commissioned officers, in the aftermath of national liberation (in 1945).”
The university responded vehemently, demanding that Kim issue an apology and withdraw from the candidacy. As the university put it, Kim is totally unsuitable to become a lawmaker as he has been disparaging and discriminating against women. On Wednesday, the university's alumni association protested strongly, expressing a profound sense of humiliation and pledging to utilize all available resources to discredit the candidate.
Quoting a scholastic paper, Kim said, “Young women who attended colleges and spoke English served (the officers) in social clubs, led by Helen Kim and Mary Ahn Moh (Moh Yun-sook).” The paper however said, “They did not provide sexual services.” However, Kim claimed they did provide such services. A history professor is expected to diligently verify the facts presented in documents. But Kim neglected to make such efforts.
Kim also sparked controversy with remarks about former President Park Chung-hee, suggesting the possibility that he had sex with elementary school students or comfort women during Japan's colonial rule over Korea. This illustrates Kim's propensity to attack people without substantiated evidence, revealing a twisted mindset.
In 2017, Kim aroused another dispute by asserting that Jeongjo tried to move the tomb of his father, Prince Sado, to a place equivalent to the breast of a woman according to feng shui theory. He boasted he had been an expert in "erotic culture in palaces.”
In January, Kim also claimed President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden would secretly agree to trigger a regional war on the Korean Peninsula. It is nonsense to allege that Seoul will wage war first as such a move would result in catastrophic consequences and the U.S. has no reason to be a part of such aggression. Kim even contended that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy opted to wage war against Russia in a bid to raise his approval ratings.
In the face of growing criticism and pressure from the DPK leadership, Kim made a belated apology, seemingly reluctantly, regarding the sexist remark against Ewha Womans University graduates. However, we believe an apology is not enough. Kim should withdraw his candidacy and the DPK should immediately take necessary and appropriate steps.
It is apparent that disillusionment with politicians will grow further, fueled by unqualified figures like Kim who seek to deceive the public with numerous false and reckless statements. One of Japan’s sex slavery victims, Lee Yong-soo, also said Kim is unfit to become a lawmaker. The DPK should take action promptly. Failure to do so will cause voters to act against him through their ballots this April.