On December 6, it was confirmed that Noh Jae-seung (37), appointed co-leader of Yoon Seok-youl’s election campaign by the People Power Party, in the past wrote, “The no. 1 holy ground in the Republic of Korea” when sharing a video that claimed that the May 18 Democratic Uprising could be seen as a riot on his social media account. The Democratic Party of Korea criticized saying that Noh’s words resembled the reckless comments of Yoon Seok-youl.

On May 18, Noh shared a YouTube video titled, “Mini Documentary: The May 18 Spirit” on his Facebook account and wrote, “The no. 1 holy ground in the Republic of Korea, a movement that has led to the enactment of a special act blocking even debates. Why are they going through all that, what in the world do they want to hide?” The video, which criticized a special bill stipulating punishment for distorting historical facts about the May 18 Democratization Movement, argued that there clearly existed elements suggesting that the May 18 uprising could be seen as a riot, such as the attack, occupation, destruction and seizure of major facilities by some demonstrators and the fact that they were armed with heavy weapons and explosives.

Last June, Noh also wrote, “As a person who calls for the abolition of regular jobs, I sometimes wonder what it would be like if the president promoted the slogan, ‘I will open an era of zero regular jobs.’” In July, he posted a link to an article on the police investigation of the illegal rally by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and wrote, “I do not object to the police’s use of live ammunition. Why can’t we strengthen the power of law enforcement in our country?”

Noh earned the nickname, Beaniejwa--a combination of “beanie,” a type of hat, and “bonjwa,” Korean slang for a person with great abilities--when he gave a speech supporting People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon in the April 7 by-election for Seoul mayor wearing a beanie.

Kim Wu-yeong, spokesperson for the Democratic Party’s election campaign released a comment this day and said, “Noh poured out all kinds of hate comments, comments instigating discrimination, and comments showing his distorted view of history on social media,” and added, “Noh’s reckless comments very much resemble the one-reckless-comment-a-day by Yoon.” Kim also argued, “The fact that Yoon’s campaign went ahead and recruited Noh despite his rash comments shows that it was not willful negligence but an intentional choice,” and said, “Yoon should first apologize to the people.”

This day, Noh wrote on Facebook, “I only criticized the behavior of the Democratic Party, leaving a smudge on the May 18 spirit, which they promote most highly, with the special bill and extensively blocking any attempt to voice ideas or opinions on the democratization movement,” and refuted that he was simply criticizing the special act on the punishment of distorting the history of the May 18 uprising. Yi Yang-su, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party election campaign said, “He gave an explanation. It was understandable.”

The previous day, the People Power Party had decided to recruit the dermatologist Ham Ik-byung, but withdrew the decision seven hours after announcing their decision when it was disclosed that Ham had said, “Since women don’t do mandatory military service, they should only exercise three-quarters of their right,” and “What is wrong with dictatorship?”