The Left`s Double Standard

The Cho Jeon-hyuk Countermeasure Committee announced in a news release Monday a concert "for sharing hope to revive education in Korea" scheduled for Thursday. The committee was formed by a group of more than a dozen conservative leaders to support ruling Grand National Party lawmaker Cho, who pushed ahead with his decision to name members of the Korea Teachers and Education Workers’ Union. He said, "Parents have the right to know who the union members are." The committee said it will hold the event as a cultural concert to raise awareness of educational issues, but will not mention the controversial union. The news release said the event was to be moderated by comedians Shim Hyeon-seop and Park Jun-hyeong and feature singers and entertainers including After School, M4, Park Hye-gyeong, Namgung Ok-bun and Yoon Hyeong-bin.

The committee`s executive secretary Heo Hyeon-joon said the committee received a flurry of calls from left-leaning media outlets from Tuesday after the news release was announced. They mostly asked questions such as, “Is the event meant to dismantle the union,” while seeking to confirm which entertainers would take part. After news on the event was publicized, management agencies for the entertainers in question were bombarded with threatening calls. A string of comments criticizing their cconsent to perform at the concert were also posted on the online fan cafes of After School and Park Jun-hyeong. Namgung said Wednesday, “I read a comment on my Web site” in explaining why she declined to perform at the concert. The homepage of the teachers’ union immediately uploaded a posting on Namgung’s withdrawal.

With all of the other entertainers also withdrawing, the Thursday concert was effectively canceled. The committee came under attack again after it said, “The threatening calls are believed to have been made by a group with its own agenda rather than music fans, considering the way they pressured the management agencies through threats and abusive language.” Postings on the committee’s Web site read, “There was no force behind (the calls),” “Entertainers should not perform at a gathering with political motives,” and “Rep. Cho must obey the law.”

The situation is reminiscent of the situation two years ago when candlelight vigils protested the resumption of American beef imports. At the time, leftist leaders hailed entertainers who joined the protests. Internet postings would insist that no force was used to get the entertainers to join. Nevertheless, the candlelight vigils resulted in illegal activities and violence. Leftist groups apparently have a double standard in supporting entertainers’ performance at gatherings they host and sabotaging assemblies of other groups. Disrupting legitimate assemblies through a collective attack is an act destroying democracy.

Chief Editorial Writer Hong Chang-sik (chansik@donga.com)