In the silence of the party, former President Yoon Suk-yeol's isolation deepens. Eom Seok-dae (played by Hong Kyung-in) from the movie 'The Age of Heroes'. Social media/movie still cut

Professor Shim Kyu-jin, Department of Digital Media, IE University, Spain

"That guy is truly a bad person."

In Lee Mun-yeol's novel 'The Age of Heroes,' this line was not a cry for justice, but an accusation for absolution.

When Eom Seok-dae's regime was firm, the children who benefited alongside him remained silent, and only after the regime collapsed did they condemn Eom Seok-dae with the loudest voices.

This scene is now being repeated in the post-Yoon Suk-yeol political landscape. However, one thing must be clearly distinguished at this point. Yoon Suk-yeol is not a politician who can be categorized with the figures who moved opportunistically around him. Yoon Suk-yeol's politics, regardless of success or failure, was characterized by consistent sincerity.

A prime example is the issue of expanding medical school enrollment quotas. At the time, increasing medical school admissions was an issue supported by over 70% of the public in opinion polls. There was a clear understanding of the problem—to shake the medical cartel structure and redesign long-term national infrastructure.

Yoon Suk-yeol did not choose the politically safest option—to hedge, to delay, to compromise. He chose to confront it head-on. However, in the process, Yoon Suk-yeol became thoroughly isolated. Key figures within the party, those referred to as 'original Yoonists,' and senior members like Yoon Han-hong neither defended the policy boldly nor waged a public opinion war from the outside.

As the medical community's backlash intensified and the left-wing camp launched its attacks, they faltered. They neither supported the policy, protected the president, nor took responsibility.

What was the result? Yoon Suk-yeol stood alone at the forefront, and the party remained silent. If they intend to continue in politics, they must explain why they were silent then. If they have no intention of taking responsibility, then quitting politics would be the normal attitude.

Yoon Suk-yeol's legacy is not solely the expansion of medical school quotas. He elevated the defense industry to a national strategic industry and restored nuclear power policies, bringing fundamental issues of energy security back to the forefront.

Furthermore, by rebuilding the ROK-US-Japan alliance, which had been shaken during the Moon Jae-in administration, he clarified South Korea's diplomatic and security coordinates. All of these were choices far removed from short-term popularity. Yoon Suk-yeol clearly drew a line for rebuilding the national system.

Therefore, Yoon Suk-yeol has become a politician who retains his supporters even after the fall of his administration. The current systemic crisis felt by the 2030 generation, in particular, overlaps with the points Yoon Suk-yeol had already warned about.

The privatization of power demonstrated by Lee Jae-myung's politics, attempts to pressure the judiciary, the erosion of constitutional spirit, and the promotion of extreme pro-China stances and distrust in the ROK-US-Japan alliance are all issues that Yoon Suk-yeol repeatedly raised. This is why many 2030 voters today feel not a vague anxiety but a concrete systemic crisis.

Yoon Suk-yeol was the president who first articulated this crisis. Who can now definitively say that his warnings were entirely wrong? Nevertheless, some figures who were close to Yoon Suk-yeol are now trying to define him solely as a 'problematic figure' and shift all responsibility to him.

In 'The Age of Heroes,' the homeroom teacher does not praise the children who reported Eom Seok-dae. Instead, she asks:

"Why didn't you speak up then?"

The same question is needed in the political sphere today. When Yoon Suk-yeol declared a war on the system, when Yoon Suk-yeol championed defense, nuclear power, and alliances, when Yoon Suk-yeol pushed for medical reform, where were you?

The accusations made now, after remaining silent then, of "That guy is truly a bad person," are not language of political courage but of opportunism.

Yoon Suk-yeol was not a perfect president. However, unlike the opportunists, he was someone who tried to stand by the front he believed was right until the end.

Those who now throw stones after turning away from that front and isolating him must first reflect on their own political responsibilities.

Politics should be evaluated not by accusations after power is lost, but by choices made while power is in operation. And the record of those choices lasts longer than one might think.

University Professor/Author

◆ Professor Shim Kyu-jin

Assistant Professor, Department of Digital Media, IE University, Spain

Former Strategic Planning Advisor, Ministry of National Defense

Former Head of Data Lab, Yeouido Research Institute

Former Full-time Professor, University of Melbourne, Australia

Former Assistant Professor, Singapore Management University

Author of 'K-Drama Yoon Suk-yeol', 'Hyper Gender', etc.