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| The Chinese character meaning "king" is seen written on the palm of conservative main opposition People Power Party presidential contender Yoon Seok-youl during a live television debate, Friday. Yonhap |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The Chinese character for "king" was seen written on the palm of conservative opposition presidential contender Yoon Seok-youl, stirring controversy that it might have a ritualistic meaning, which he denied.
Yoon was seen with the character (王) on his left palm during a live television debate among the presidential hopefuls of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), Oct. 1, when he waved his hand while talking.
Soon, more pictures were revealed of Yoon bearing the letter on his hand during two previous debates. His rivals within the PPP and the liberal ruling party have raised suspicions that he is relying on shamanistic rituals to stay ahead in the presidential race.
Rep. Hong Joon-pyo of the PPP, a seasoned politician who emerged as a major rival of Yoon after announcing his second presidential bid, criticized the former prosecutor general for "writing a talisman" on his palm.
"This is the first time I've seen someone earn their doctoral degree via fortune-telling, and this is the first time I've seen a shaman involved in a presidential race. I was skeptical of the news I had heard that Yoon has a shaman helping him become president, but now that it's been revealed that he wrote a talisman on the palm of his hand, all I can think is that this is just absurd," Hong wrote on Facebook, Sunday.
Hong's reference to the doctoral degree targeted Yoon's wife, Kim Keon-hee, whose doctoral dissertation was about using avatars for fortune-telling content development.
"Public opinion on former President Park Geun-hye deteriorated following a rumor that she and her aide Choi Soon-sil performed an exorcism at Cheong Wa Dae. Yoon should give up on 'talisman campaigning,' which is childish behavior that cheapens the level of politics," he added.
Yoo Seong-min, another rival in the PPP, also compared Yoon to Choi, the main figure of Park's massive corruption scandal who intervened in state affairs despite holding no official title.
"What is the difference between Yoon and Choi, who believed in 'obangsaek' (the five traditional Korean colors), and applied the colors during national events? Yoon should clarify why he has 'king' written on his palm," Yoo wrote on Facebook.
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) criticized Yoon for regarding the president, a person who should serve the people, as a king.
"We doubt that Yoon is a politician for a modern society," DPK spokesperson Rep. Lee So-young said in a written commentary, Sunday. "Is his political vision to set up an absolute monarchy where the king controls all state power, while the aristocracy enjoys privileges and the people's freedom is suppressed?"
While both the ruling and opposition parties attacked him, Yoon's election camp explained that his neighbors wrote the letter on Yoon's palm to show their support.
"We tried to erase it with hand sanitizer before the debate, but it didn't come off. What shamanistic effect could a character written on his hand in marker have? In future debates, we will not erase any encouraging messages from supporters if they continue to write them on his palm," Yoon's spokesperson said.
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