Truth Forum Statement on the Impeachment of President Park Geun-hye

2019-2-22, Truth Forum

It has been over two years since the National Assembly voted to impeach President Park Geun-hye from office in December 2016. But the citizens of South Korea remember the fake news media that agitated the people with false information. Contrary to the sensational media frenzy and incitement, no “sex videos” of President Park Geun-hye surfaced, and no slush funds of “₩880 trillion” have come to light. Growing number of people now question the media’s biased reporting of the time.

Swayed by the false media instigations and political calculations, the National Assembly voted in favor of the impeachment, and the Constitutional Court made a political decision on the basis of false news reports without factual evidence. Furthermore, we have since witnessed the abuse of the judicial courts as political tools by the ideologically biased judges and prosecutors who threaten the liberal democratic values of the Republic of Korea.

Recent Druking scandal that was revealed to have rigged the opinion polls during the presidential election two years ago is a startling example of the extent to which online opinion manipulation can undermine our democratic republic. In this light, it is only fair to seriously question the legitimacy of the 19th presidential election. Also, it can be easily presumed that such mass-scale opinion rigging also took place during the so-called ‘candlelight revolution’ and the following impeachment process when false information was rampant in our news media. Distortion of public opinion destroys the very basis of democracy and is a mockery of its people. We must respond to this threat.

The problem is all the more too serious to ignore when we consider the fact that North Korean intelligence agencies operate several cyber hacking units that manipulate South Korean public opinions. As a matter of fact, president Park Geun-hye’s impeachment had been asserted in the North Korean state newspaper a year before she was impeached, which is then followed by the current administration that turns a blind eye to North Korea’s human rights atrocities, threatens Republic of Korea (ROK)-U.S. relations, and bankrupts the national economy. As we witness the current government’s blatant pro-North stance which is undermining our national security, we are concerned that there may well be individuals like Günter Guillaume, who was spying for East Germany from within the government of West Germany, in our own midst.

It is necessary to take appropriate measures to tackle these threats of disinformation that attempt to undermine the values of the Republic of Korea. A robust political atmosphere must be established so that public opinion is fairly voiced and heard without distortion and manipulation. This is not a left-or-right issue. Political opinion may differ, but our discourse must be based on facts and truths. And the truth will unite us and move us forward.

As such, we would like to ask each and every member of the National Assembly to provide their thoughts and positions on the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, and leave a clear record in history. Your responses will be made public in an appropriate manner.

Overwhelming number of the public is concerned by the nuclear threats from North Korea and our disintegrating national security, not to mention our failing economy. It is imperative that we protect the Republic of Korea which miraculously came into existence and have grown in prosperity on the basis of strong ROK-U.S. alliance. We also expect to see genuine progress in North Korea’s denuclearization and human rights improvement in the coming U.S.-North Korea Summit.

February 22, 2019

Truth Forum

————-

Truth Forum held an open forum at the National Assembly asking the lawmakers about the legitimacy of the impeachment of Park Geun-hye.  See here: https://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1005148729 and here: http://www.jayoo.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=6726