영 이코노미스트지. 한국 정부에 핵펀치...대놓고 비판! VIDEO: South Korea’s liberal rulers unleash their inner authoritarians

South Korea’s liberal rulers unleash their inner authoritarians

Used to dishing out the criticism, they seem unwilling to take it

South korea has a proud history of noisy opposition to the powers that be. Japanese colonisers found their subjects unruly. Homegrown military dictators, who brutally suppressed their citizens’ democratic yearnings for decades, eventually yielded to widespread protests. Even democratically elected leaders have incurred the wrath of civil society. Park Geun-hye, the predecessor of Moon Jae-in, the current president, was chased out of office in 2017 after millions of South Koreans took to the streets to decry rampant corruption in her government.

Ms Park’s left-wing successors had vowed to do better. Mr Moon, a former activist and human-rights lawyer, and his Minjoo party claim to embody the legacy of the pro-democracy movement. They promised to honour the spirit of the protests that swept them to power.

The country would become more egalitarian. The government would be more open, tolerant of dissent and responsive.

Those good intentions seem to be flagging. Opponents of the government are again finding that their views may attract litigation rather than benign indifference or even constructive responses. Nearly a fifth of civil libel suits against media organisations last year involved senior officials, more than during Ms Park’s administration.

Last month the president’s office appealed against a court ruling that cleared a conservative newspaper of defaming Mr Moon’s wife in an opinion column (the writer mused over whether the couple’s official overseas trips were too heavy on sightseeing). A right-wing YouTuber has been jailed for spreading rumours about Cho Kuk, a former senior official in Mr Moon’s government (Mr Cho has since been disgraced). 

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https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/08/20/south-koreas-liberal-rulers-unleash-their-inner-authoritarians

한국은 수십 년 동안 자국민의 민주적 열망을 잔혹하게 억누른 자생적인 군사 독재자들은 결국 광범위한 시위에 굴복했다 이후 민주적으로 선출된 지도자들은 시민사회의 분노를 샀다. 수많은 사람들이 거리로 나와  소위 국정농단에 항의시위를 했다. 그리고 새로운 대통령이 선출됐다. 한국의 좌익 후계자들은 더 잘하겠다고 맹세했었다. 운동권 출신이자 인권변호사였던 문 대통령과 그의 더불어민주당이 민주화운동의 유산을 구체화하자고 주장했다. 그리고 그들은  촛불시위의 정신을 기리겠다고 약속했었다. 그러나 지난해 현 정부의 언론기관을 상대로 한 민사 명예훼손 소송의 거의 5분의 1은 박 전 대통령 재임 기간보다 더 많은 고위 공직자들이 연루됐다. 지난달 대통령 청원에는 대통령 부인의 명예를 훼손한 보수신문에 대해 무죄를 선고한 법원 판결에 불복했다. 문 대통령 정부의 전직 고위 관료인 조국 전 수석에 대한 루머를 퍼뜨린 언론인 출신 우파 유튜버가 구속수감됐다(조국은 이후 망신을 당했다). -중략-  세부 내용은 동영상 참조

영국 Economist, 한국 정부를 '독재'라고 대놓고 비판! 

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