Governor Nam and his son in the Army

It has been turned out that Gyeonggi Governor Nam Kyung-pil’s son beat his subordinate at a time when the public is still reeling from the case of Mr. Yoon, a soldier beaten to death by senior soldiers. Governor Nam who is well aware of the significance of the matter as a politician posted an apology on his Facebook page on Sunday. He wrote, “As one of social leaders, it is my fault that I did not teach my child well.”

He faced a bigger backlash from the public. A social leader? Who let him lead society? Internet users were outraged by his expression‍ that he seems to think himself as a man of power. After realizing his mistake, Governor Nam revised the expression‍ to “as one of public officials.” At around 9 p.m., he changed the expression‍ more modestly. He wrote, “As a father who sent his son to the military, it is entirely my fault for not teaching my son well.” Nonetheless, there were cold responses in comments. One wrote, “There is a Chinese saying that you can rule the country only after you control yourself and your family.” Others said, “Nam Kyung-pil must resign,” and “Nam can no longer dream of running for president.”

Coincidently, Governor Nam wrote an Op-Ed on a daily newspaper worrying about army violence before his son’s involvement was known to the public. He said, “After sending my two sons to the military, I was worried if they were beaten by their senior soldiers. Now, as they are sergeants, I am concerned whether they would rather victimize others.” He sent the Op-Ed to the newspaper on Tuesday last week and he was informed of his son’s case the next day. The public is heavily criticizing him for not cancelling his Op-Ed.

Although it is banned to punish a criminal’s family, Koreans still strongly believe that parents should be responsible for their child’s wrongdoings. Parents cannot control their child’s behavior in the military. The public seems to be cold-hearted due to the suspicion that his son did so knowing that his father is in power. Whether Governor Nam should resign from his post or not is another issue, but this can be the evidence of the widespread violence in the military. Now is the time for the fathers whose social positions can be threatened by their sons to take care of their sons in the military.