By Choi Ha-young
A group of 300 North Korean defectors expressed support for Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) presidential candidate Moon Jae-in, Tuesday.
This is the second time defectors have backed Moon who is leading the presidential race. On April 26, 40 other defectors, mainly in their 20s and 30s, announced they would help Moon win the election.
Defectors’ support for a liberal candidate in an election here is quite rare because they have generally preferred conservatives with relatively more hawkish stances on the Kim Jong-un regime.
“We will support Moon who is the only candidate with reasonable views on North Korea and who can give careful attention to our voice,” the 300 defectors said in a statement. “We believe Moon is the most qualified to achieve unification of the divided peninsula.”
They claimed some ultra-right organizations, funded by the Federation of Korean Industries, mobilized them for their political rallies last year.
“We’ve stood by conservative groups, fooled by their honeyed words amid economic difficulties,” they said. “However, they have exploited us only for their own needs, disregarding our hardships. We will no longer support them recklessly.”
They lashed out at the conservatives’ attempts to use North Korea and security issues to win the election, capitalizing on popular concerns about regional instability.
“Even if they brand Moon as a pro-North candidate, we won’t be deceived. This is such an outdated tool,” the statement said.
Rather than two former conservative presidents’ hard-line policies toward Pyongyang, they called for a future-oriented diplomatic approach in handling North Korea based on frequent communication with citizens. “The hard-liners can’t avoid responsibility for the North’s escalating missile and nuclear threats,” they said.
Last month, the young defectors said in a statement they also participated in street rallies demanding the ouster of former President Park Geun-hye early this year.