Tag: Yoon Suk-yeol

It seems like the Korean left is getting desperate with the Presidential election just days away by comparing Yoon to Trump:

Is Yoon Suk-yeol the South Korean Trump?

That is what his opponents and critics seem to think for the many parallels the conservative candidate from the People Power Party has with former US President Donald Trump. 

Both have made remarks that would be offensive to other countries, praised heavily controversial political figures, gone after foreigners and shown a poor understanding of feminism. On top of using anti-China rhetoric, the two also like to speak to their base on social media and announce policies that read like slogans. For example, Yoon’s “Abolish the Gender Equality Ministry” could be compared to Trump’s “Build the Wall.” 

With just a week left before the election, the long list of similarities between the two outsiders who came to represent their respective countries’ mainstream conservative parties seems to be only growing.

Many voters in Korea seem to believe the March 9 presidential election is about the liberals and whether they should be allowed to stay in power after major missteps like their housing policies. But experts who talked to The Korea Herald said it may be about K-Trumpism, or the rise of the alt-right movement in Korea, as seen in the United States, United Kingdom and some other democracies around the world. 

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but this opinion piece also claims that the election of Yoon would be a blow to democracy. Notice how if a conservative wins its always a blow to democracy with the left? Just like Trump was voted out in 2020 there will be an election again in five years if Yoon some how wins this upcoming election. Democracy will continue in South Korea.

I don’t care how many windmills you make, it will never equal the energy output that nuclear power can generate. It seems more and more countries are realizing this especially as the world turns more to electric cars:

 Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday vowed to scrap the current Moon Jae-in government’s nuclear phase-out policy, saying he will make South Korea a powerhouse in nuclear power generation. 

“I will recover the ecosystem of nuclear power generation and advance safe nuclear technologies so that they can become a core engine to drive the country,” Yoon of the People Power Party wrote on his Facebook page. 

Yoon emphasized that it is a global trend to use nuclear power generation along with other energy sources to reduce carbon and lessen the dependence on foreign countries for energy, adding that even the European Union Taxonomy recently labeled nuclear power as green energy. 

“French President (Emmanuel) Macron reversed his words of ‘nuclear-phase out’ five years ago and declared ‘U-turn to nuclear power,'” Yoon said. “After nuclear phase-out, Italy lost its energy power and became a country that imports the most electricity in Europe.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Yoon Suk-yeol’s wife has absolutely been getting hammered during this Presidential campaign and here is the latest example:

Musician An Chi-hwan’s newly-released rock number, “Lady Who Looks like Michael Jackson,” has caused presidential hopeful Yoon Suk-yeol to fume with rage, as the song allegedly satirized the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) candidate’s wife, Kim Keon-hee, who, facing multiple allegations of misconduct, has been at the center of a number of scandals in the lead-up to the March 9 election. 

The song incensed Yoon, as it mocks his wife, Kim Keon-hee.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Leave it to Korea’s leftists to claim that if Yoon Suk-yeol wins the South Korean presidency that it would be anti-democratic and a coup d’etat by the Korean right:

Professor Emeritus Byun Hyung-yoon of Seoul National University along with 130 members of a civic group calling for the formation of a democratic reform government stated on Jan. 28 that “an ahistorical and antidemocratic force is attempting to overturn the times,” adding that “citizens of the candlelight movement of 2017 who devoted themselves to ensure the survival of Korean democracy today should step forward again and protect [democracy] through their votes.” (………….)

Kim Dong-chun, a professor at Sungkonghoe University, recently posted the following message on Facebook: “From the very outset, Moon Jae-in and the Democratic Party were little prepared and had no blueprint for bringing about proper change in this society. Nevertheless, we mustn’t allow them to be defeated by the People Power Party and reactionaries.

We may not like Moon, but that’s no reason to cynically go along with a reactionary coup d’etat. As for the zeitgeist in the presidential election, we’re unfortunately past the stage of discussing that. We have to stop the coup.”Some will no doubt dispute Kim’s view that putting another party in power through an election is a coup d’etat. Coup or not, we have to persuade the public if we’re to stop it.

Hankyoreh

You can read more at the link, but this opinion piece in the Hankyoreh gives people an idea of how the Korean left thinks, if they win elections it is democratic, but if they lose its an undemocratic coup.

The real question is whether the U.S. military wants or needs another THAAD battery in South Korea considering it is a very finite asset:

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol pledged Sunday to deploy additional units of the U.S. THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea following North Korea’s launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile earlier in the day.

Yoon of the conservative People Power Party wrote the words “Additional THAAD deployment” on his Facebook page and did not elaborate.

The candidate has previously expressed support for the controversial missile defense system, which China has condemned as a threat to its national security.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest attempt to bring down Yoon Suk-yeol’s campaign through criticisms of his wife:

The latest fodder emerged Sunday during MBC TV’s airing of recordings of phone calls between Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon-hee, and a reporter for a liberal YouTube channel, in which Kim claimed she was a “spiritual” person who preferred discussing the meaning of life with “dosas,” or gurus, to visiting nightclubs.

Kim’s remark received attention because she has previously been reported to have close ties to shamanism and introduced certain shamans to her husband.

Then, local newspaper Segye Times reported Monday that a shaman introduced by Kim has been exercising undue influence over Yoon’s campaign while working as an adviser for a subunit named “Network Headquarters.”

The PPP scrambled to dispel the allegations, saying the person in question is not a shaman but a Buddhist figure who has made several visits to the campaign but has never been appointed an adviser nor had any sway in the campaign.

On Tuesday, the party announced the dissolution of the Network Headquarters, saying the decision was made by Yoon.

When asked to address the claims, Yoon expressed disbelief.

“I was introduced to him by a party official and we introduced ourselves, but I know him to be a monk,” the candidate told reporters Monday. “I saw the article about (him being involved in) my schedule and public messaging, but it’s a truly absurd story.”

Yoon’s opponents have likened his wife to Choi Soon-sil, a confidante of former conservative President Park Geun-hye, who was also accused of having ties to shamanism and running state affairs from behind the scenes.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the comparison to Choi Soon-sil is ridiculous when Choi was essentially a lobbyist collecting money from Samsung for her sports foundation in return for influence over then President Park. The shamanism claims was just sensationalism added to the story by the media. What is going on now with the claims against the Yoon campaign is likely the same thing. With that said his Kim Keon-hee needs to be careful what she says to the media because they will use anything she says in or out of context to damage her husband’s campaign.

The Chinese are not going to be happy with Yoon’s foreign policy platform:

Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential candidate of the main opposition conservative People Power Party (PPP), vowed, Monday, to “rebuild” Korea’s alliance with the U.S. to deal more effectively with both North Korea’s nuclear threats and other regional security and economic cooperation issues. 

He also said he would expand South Korea’s role in U.S.-led multilateral initiatives, including the Quadrilateral Strategic Dialogue, widely known as the “Quad.”

“I would focus on bolstering a comprehensive and strategic alliance with the United States based on the shared values and principles of freedom, democracy, the market economy, constitutionalism and human rights,” Yoon said during a press conference on his diplomacy and security policy pledges at party headquarters in Seoul.

“I will pursue open cooperation to expand common interests with related countries in the region by participating in working groups for vaccines, climate change and new technology under the Quad, a partnership between the U.S., Japan, Australia and India.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but Yoon is not planning on joining the quad formerly. He also says he is willing to provide full economic support to North Korea if they denuclearize which we all know isn’t happening.

I don’t even think Yoon’s proposed stipend to new parents that would last for one year would do much to help the country’s low birth rate, due to the overall cost of raising kids in South Korea:

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol pledged Tuesday to offer parents a 1 million-won (US$837) monthly allowance for one year after the birth of their child to help tackle the country’s low birth rate.

Yoon of the People Power Party made the promise during a New Year’s press conference, saying the program should “free people from the economic burden of having children” at relatively little cost to the government, as only 260,000 babies are born a year.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.