Yoon sends message from prison to youth protesters: 'Don't be discouraged'

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol sent a message from prison through his legal team to young people rallying at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul, demanding a new election, urging them not to be intimidated by entrenched power. "There is no need to feel the slightest pressure from the established powers," he said. "Have confidence and keep your spirits up."

Bae Eui-cheol, a lawyer on Yoon's defense team, posted the message Thursday on his Facebook page. He said he had told Yoon during a Wednesday prison visit that the young demonstrators appeared worn out from campaigning in the sweltering heat to defend freedom and voting rights, and that Yoon then offered the message for the youth.

"Our young people are truly remarkable, admirable and dependable," Yoon said. "I pray to God every day that they will be strong and that he will give them strength."

He said the fate of a nation rests on the dreams and hopes of the next generation, and that the easiest way to bring a country down is to push its youth into a swamp of despair — making them abandon their ambitions and lose their vision for the future.

Yoon also said he receives many letters from young people saying that the harsh realities of politics and the economy make it hard for them to pursue their dreams freely, expressing his sorrow even from behind bars.

"No matter how powerful the established forces may appear, young people possess 'the future' as their asset — a strength far greater than any entrenched power," he said. "So there is no need to feel intimidated at all. Have confidence and keep your energy up."

He closed by urging the youth not to lose heart even if the road ahead is strewn with hardship rather than smooth and easy. "Never be discouraged or downcast, never give up or despair," he said. "The trials before us are God's way of refining you — making you stronger so he can use you for greater things." He ended with a call to action: "Think of hardship as a blessing, and let us press on together."