Hwang Sok-yong defends Lee Jae Myung, slams factional infighting and media figures

Veteran progressive novelist Hwang Sok-yong has come to the defense of President Lee Jae Myung amid internal ruling-party tensions, asking, "What exactly has the president done wrong?"

Appearing on JTBC on Wednesday, Hwang said of Lee's nationally televised press conference that "the president did not really need to come out and apologize like that," adding that Lee was "the first president in history to have completed or set in motion more than 90 percent of his campaign pledges in such a short time."

Asked whether he thought the president felt isolated, Hwang said, "It's a shame." He said people were moved by Lee's remark at the apology press conference — "The people who elected someone from the periphery, from outside the mainstream, are also the public" — and repeated his view that Lee had little to apologize for.

"Historically, in urgent moments like this, those who regress should be left where they stand," Hwang said. "History will simply pass them by. The important thing is to work hard so that the public stays by your side."

On the factional infighting within the Democratic Party of Korea, Hwang said he agreed with Seoul National University professor emeritus Paik Nak-chung, who called it "an act of betrayal" for a small faction to seize control of the party and raise the question of a merger with the Rebuilding Korea Party as part of a power struggle. "Some say a '90-year-old elder has gone too far,' but if that's how it sounded, those who committed such acts should reflect on themselves," Hwang said.

He dismissed remarks by Kim Ou-joon — who said "the era of love with President Lee is over and a relationship of friendship is now needed" — as "nonsensical and deeply arrogant."

Hwang also strongly criticized the political influence wielded by YouTube media figures. "YouTube is also media, and media has rules — fact-based reporting, objectivity," he said. "But they line people up based on who gets invited on their shows, include some and exclude others, and exercise political influence that way. Media is already a form of power — this is not healthy." He said media figures must take responsibility for their role.

On figures such as writer Yoo Si-min, Hwang acknowledged their contributions during the insurrection crisis but said he had long been concerned about the political entrenchment of shows like News Factory even before the current administration took office. "Media should just do the work of media," he said.

Hwang also said the pardon of Cho Kuk, head of the Rebuilding Korea Party's policy research institute, had come too soon.

"Pushing for a pardon right after the Lee Jae Myung government took office was too hasty," he said. "It was frustrating. He had only been in prison a few months, and the government had barely launched." Hwang added that Cho's move to mention the next presidential election and stir up a merger push immediately after his release showed excessive impatience, and drew a comparison to former Bareunmirae Party leader Sohn Hak-kyu, noting a similar tendency to be well-groomed but poorly timed.

Hwang said South Korea was "standing at the edge of a cliff" and stressed the need to improve inter-Korean relations and pursue constitutional reform.

"Inter-Korean relations have carried the weight of a war footing for 75 years," he said. "We need an end-of-war declaration and a peace deal so that the entire Korean Peninsula can move toward a system of peaceful coexistence." He also said the country had outgrown the constitutional framework established in 1987. "We have grown too much to keep wearing old clothes," he said, adding that discussions on constitutional reform were urgently needed.