[talk] Hwang Kyo-ik responds to Lim Young-woong's remarks, "Why me?" "It may sound like an insult to the citizens"

Amid controversy over a person presumed to be Lim Young-woong expressing negative views on political participation through DMs with netizens, food columnist Hwang Kyo-ik criticized this.

On the 8th, Hwang Kyo-ik mentioned the controversial comment made by Lim Young-woong on his SNS, “Am I a politician? Why am I raising my voice?” and publicly pointed out, “Not making political statements is freedom,” and “However, saying that only politicians can raise political voices can be heard as an insult to citizens who come out to the square on that cold day to express their political opinions, saying, ‘You’re not even politicians.’”

Hwang Kyo-ik added, "I'm not saying that all citizens should make political statements," and "If you feel uncomfortable expressing your political opinions, it's better not to say anything about it. That's how ordinary Korean celebrities live, and I don't think this attitude is ethically wrong."

He also said, "I don't think it's ethical to force someone who doesn't express their political opinions to express their political opinions," and "If we want to live as citizens of a democratic republic, we have to be polite to each other to that extent."