Jang Seong-min, chairman of the World and Northeast Asia Peace Forum, which has been controversial for extreme remarks such as rumors of North Korean military infiltration and homophobia on May 18, has been appointed as special adviser to President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol.
In a written briefing on the 16th, Spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said, “From the time of the People’s Power presidential nomination, he has been the most critical of the elected candidate to the extent that he has received a request for restraint from the Presidential Candidate.” It is said that they have been communicating with each other by asking for bitterness in the presidential election. It might be better to call it a ‘bitter warning’.”
Some media also reported on the appointment of Jang Sung-min as special advisor, emphasizing ‘bitterness’ and ‘integration’. Representative articles of ‘Yoon Seok-yeol and Jang Seong-min appointed as special advisors for political affairs.. ‘National unity’ signal’ (Qukey News) ‘Kookie News’ and ‘Two people’s policy special adviser for ‘尹 and ‘朴Brain’..’ am.
However, Special Advisor Jang Seong-min has been controversial for making extreme remarks or reporting inaccurate facts. For example, in 2015, he hosted TV Chosun’s ‘Jang Seong-min’s Current Affairs Tank’ and broadcast rumors of infiltration of the North Korean military in the May 18th Democratization Movement.
At that time, the performer, Lim Cheon-yong, claimed, “About 600 people from one battalion of North Korean special forces came down to Gwangju around 5/18.” Then, special advisor Jang Seong-min, who was presenter, said, “Direct and indirect testimonies from North Korean defectors are pouring out.” He added, “Conclusive evidence and clues are emerging one after another that have resolved the suspicion that citizens were being sold as gangsters, rioters and spies.” He also argued that “the substantive truth of how far North Korea’s special guerrillas are involved in the Gwangju Democratization Movement must be revealed.”
In addition to this, special advisor Jang Seong-min continued to be controversial because of the slurred speech and biased progress. On the July 20, 2015 broadcast, Moon Jae-in made a controversial claim by claiming that the Sewol ferry disaster occurred because then-Rep. Moon Jae-in failed to fulfill his role as trustee in the past bankruptcy of Yoo Byung-eon, former chairman of the Semo Group. Special Adviser Jang Seong-min insisted on the conspiracy theory, saying, “I now have a sense of why President Moon Jae-in and his party didn’t say a word on the matter when they made a fuss about Chairman Yoo Byung-eon in relation to the sinking of the Sewol ferry.”
As such broadcasts continued, ‘Jang Seong-min’s Current Affairs Tank’ set a record as the program that received the most deliberation sanctions (including administrative guidance) among current current affairs programs, which played a decisive role in leading to the crisis of TV Chosun re-approval rejection. At that time, the Korea Communications Commission and the Korea Communications Standards Commission consisted of many members appointed by the Park Geun-hye government.
Special Adviser for Political Affairs Jang Seong-min also made hateful remarks about ‘homosexuality’. According to News&Joy, in 2017, he said, “How deadly is homosexuality and how much disease it causes in humans. In the Middle Ages, the Black Death was rife, killing hundreds of thousands of people. We have a virus like this (like the Black Death) right in front of us.” He continued, “The pastors who want to live in the world according to God’s word support homosexuality. They should be punished,” he said.
Special Advisor Jang Seong-min spread the ‘Kim Jong-un death rumor’ through Facebook, but it turned out that it was not true. In April 2020, he said on his Facebook page, citing a source in China that “North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is virtually dead.”
At the time, Special Adviser Jang Seong-min posted on Facebook with the headline, “President Moon, who is silent on North Korea’s Kim Jong-un situation, must announce his position to the public.” We need to make it clear to the public what we are doing,” he urged.
Special Adviser Jang Seong-min was disallowed from joining the former People’s Party in 2017 due to remarks about the infiltration of the North Korean military on May 18. After that, Special Advisor Jang Seong-min joined the Bareunmirae Party and continued his political career, running as a candidate for the People’s Power presidential primary.