Former professional footballer Yim Min-hyeok, center, who announced his retirement last March / Captured from his Instagram
By KTimes
Former professional footballer Yim Min-hyeok, 30, who retired last March with a farewell message pledging to "live a new life in solidarity," has publicly renounced his support for Rep. Cho Jung-hun of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), calling his association with Cho "a disgrace."
Yim's now-deleted Instagram post criticizing Cho has gone viral online. Cho was among 105 PPP lawmakers who abstained from voting on President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment motion in the National Assembly on Saturday.
Yim posted on Instagram on Monday, requesting the removal of a statement on the knowledge-sharing platform Namuwiki that said he was close to Cho. The Namuwiki entry read, “Yim Min-hyeok is presumed to have a close relationship with Cho Jung-hoon, dining together and visiting Cho’s office at the National Assembly.”
In his post, Yim said, “Being associated with someone who collaborates with treason for power, without any conviction, is a disgrace of my life.”
He added, “I haven’t lived a particularly proud life, but at least I haven’t lived shamefully. The brief moments of dining and conversing with Cho were the greatest insult and humiliation of my life.”
Yim added, “I am withdrawing my support for you. Thinking like that is what makes one part of the establishment and an elite.”
Yim Min-hyeok appears on the YouTube channel LifeCode. Captured from LifeCode YouTube channel
Means must not be corrupted, even if goal is just
Yim has been outspoken about his beliefs in the past. In April, he criticized individuals in the football world who “cling to positions by any means necessary.”
Many online commenters noted that his statements could also apply to Yoon’s recent declaration of martial law.
Speaking on the YouTube channel LifeCode, Yim said, “There are people holding onto positions they don’t deserve. Even if the goal is just, the means must not be corrupted. This is not just my personal opinion but a demand of our times.”
Yim, a goalkeeper for K League 2 team Cheonan City FC, was not widely known during his playing career.
However, his farewell message in March resonated deeply with fans. He wrote on social media, “I wasn’t extraordinary, but I lived with pride, sweating and working hard in a world where effort is valued. That alone makes me satisfied.”
He also pledged to honor his promise of not taking opportunities away from more passionate and diligent juniors, saying, “I will spend the rest of my life playing, working, loving, and living in solidarity.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
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