YouTuber Shuka deleted a video after receiving criticism for saying, “I hope President Yoon Suk-yeol finishes his term smoothly.”
On the 5th, Shuka released a video titled ‘KOSPI Decreasing with Martial Law’ on his YouTube channel. In the broadcast, Shuka mentioned a series of events following President Yoon Suk-yeol's declaration of a state of emergency through an urgent address on the 3rd. The controversial part arose when he discussed the remarks of then-Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun about being “overwhelmed.”
Former Minister Kim is known to be the person who advised President Yoon to declare a state of emergency. It is reported that shortly after President Yoon lifted the state of emergency on the morning of the 4th, Kim instructed officials at the Ministry of National Defense to be released from duty, saying, “It was overwhelming. Good job.”
While mentioning this, Shuka said, “Overwhelmed? I don’t even know what was overwhelming.” He continued, “I am neither left nor right. I have no intention of supporting anyone,” and added, “I hope the current president does well. I hope he does well, finishes his term smoothly, and the next president does the same. I hope both the left and right can work together to achieve something good, but I don’t understand this remark about being overwhelmed.”
Netizens reacted with disbelief to Shuka's comments. Many netizens expressed, “This is mechanical neutrality. I can’t accept it,” “How much economic loss is there, and an economic YouTuber treats a coup as if it’s nothing,” “Neutrality in a biased situation is complicity,” “This is self-contradictory,” “You just want things to go well?” “There is a line in neutrality,” “Being neutral in such matters is taking a side,” “You hope he finishes his term safely?” Some, however, defended him, saying, “It sounded like he hoped whoever the president is would finish their term without any issues,” “Isn’t it better for the country if he does well?” and “It seems like he’s overinterpreting by focusing too much on the words.”
As the controversy arose, Shuka deleted the video from his YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a state of emergency through an urgent address at 10:23 PM on the 3rd. At around 1 AM on the 4th, the National Assembly passed a resolution demanding the lifting of the state of emergency, and at 4:27 AM, President Yoon lifted the declaration. The government announced that it held a cabinet meeting at 4:30 AM to approve the ‘lifting of the martial law proposal.’
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
