Yoon emphasizes ‘crackdown on fake news and establishment of rule of law’ on day when prosecution exempts First Lady from indictment

President Yoon Suk-yeol attends an event held by the Council for the Better Tomorrow Movement at Gangneung Ice Arena on October 17. Yonhap News

“Fake news constantly produced is threatening our liberal democracy,” President Yoon Suk-yeol said on October 17, calling for the “power of truth to defeat false propaganda and fake news that disturb our society.”

Yoon said while attending the national membership convention of the Council for the Better Tomorrow Movement held at Gangneung Ice Arena, “Now is the time when the power of truth, order and harmony, the three pillars of the better tomorrow movement, is urgently needed.”

Established in 1989, the Council for the Better Tomorrow Movement is one of the three main organizations supported by the government along with the Korea Freedom Federation and the Korea Saemaul Undong Center. It has about 820,000 members in 17 provincial councils across the country. Yoon attended the same event in Daegu last year. It is the first time a sitting president has attended the organization's event two years in a row.

Yoon said, “A liberal society is grounded in truth and based on truth. We cannot become a liberal democratic society based on fake news and false incitement.”

He added, “The difference between freedom and indulgence is that a free person has a firm sense of responsibility and respects the freedom of others. Your help is needed in establishing the right order and rule of law so that everyone's freedom is mutually respected.”

At the end of the event, the president sang and clapped slogans, such as "Let's expel false incitement," "Let's lead the sense of law," and "Let's contribute to national unity,”" with 8,000 attendees, including Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Interior and Safety, Kim Jin-tae, Gangwon Province Governor, and Kang Seok-ho, president of the Korea Freedom Federation.

After the event, Yoon visited Gangmun Beach without notice to meet with Gangneung citizens, according to presidential office spokesperson Chung Hye-jeon. Yoon had lunch with Governor Kim, Kim Si-sung, Gangwon Provincial Council Chairman, Gangneung Mayor Kim Hong-kyu, and Samcheok Mayor Park Sang-soo and listened to pending issues in the province, including industrial complexes, improved regulations and population trends.

Yoon emphasized the rule of law during the event, but questions arise as to whether the government is actually living up to it. The prosecution decided not to indict First Lady Kim Keon-hee, on charges of stock manipulation at Deutsch Motors, prompting opposition parties to criticize that “Korea's judicial order has collapsed before Kim.”

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.