“Even trying to help a little, organized the press conference”
“Refused the name ‘Baekgoldan,’ saying it gives justification to the left”
“It’s an issue for the young people to correct on their own”
Kim Min-jeon, a member of the People Power Party, expressed her thoughts as controversy arose after she led a press conference for the ‘Anti-Communist Youth Corps’ that supports President Yoon Suk-yeol.
On the 9th, Kim posted on her social media account, “I was moved by the passion of the young people I met in front of Hannam Elementary School,” mentioning the Anti-Communist Youth Corps. She said, “I was both saddened by the fact that they stayed out in the biting snowstorm and touched by their calls for liberal democracy and transparent election verification.” She continued, “Yesterday afternoon, I received a call from my office asking to organize a press conference for the young people in front of Hannam Elementary. There was no reason to refuse a small effort for them, so I made a time between the Education Committee public hearing and the plenary session today.”
Kim further explained, “Right before the press conference, I learned from my assistants that the name of the organization of those young people was the Anti-Communist Youth Corps, so I introduced them as such. Having seen videos of some demonstrators from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions assaulting the police, I thought the white fibers were for defense.” However, she confessed, “After the press conference, a situation erupted. They are simply young people supporting President Yoon, but they do not want the demonstration to be organized, do not consent to the name Anti-Communist Youth Corps, and do not desire the name Baekgoldan, as it provides justification to the left, leading to a flood of messages.”
She expressed her feelings, saying, “By organizing the press conference with the intention of helping them even a little, it seems I may have made quite a few young supporters of President Yoon uncomfortable, which weighs on my heart. Considering it’s an unorganized resistance, I believe various thoughts exist within it. Additionally, I felt once again that these diverse thoughts and voluntary participation that aren’t organized are the source of legitimacy among young people supporting President Yoon.” She concluded, “The issue is not for me to decide but something for the young people to correct through their own discussion.”
Earlier that day, Kim appeared at the Anti-Communist Youth Corps press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall. She introduced them as “an affiliated organization of the Anti-Communist Youth Corps that conducted a safeguarding demonstration near the Presidential residence in white helmets” and emphasized their efforts to protect President Yoon and defend the constitutional order of South Korea. An Anti-Communist Youth Corps representative highlighted the risk of expanding into civil conflict, warning that any attempt to deploy police special forces to arrest an incumbent president is a highly dangerous act.
Subsequently, Lee Jun-seok, a member of the Reform New Party, criticized on his social media, saying, “Rep. Kim does not deserve to be a lawmaker.” He stated, “Amidst concerns nationwide about a potential clash between police and security forces due to President Yoon’s obstinacy, or an intensification of the conflict between pro- and anti-impeachment citizens in front of Hannam-dong residence, how could Rep. Kim promote a group that aims to obstruct law enforcement by bringing them into the National Assembly press conference hall?” He further challenged, “Do you really not know the meaning of Baekgoldan in Korea? This is politics that can’t even distinguish between manure. Why does the People Power Party push out lawmaker Kim Sang-wook, who acts on his convictions, yet support Rep. Kim, who incites social unrest?”