OPINION:
President Trump recently chastised South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party of Korea for their efforts to oppress all right-wing ideology in South Korea and persecute their political opponents.
Although Mr. Lee and his government have feigned ignorance and attempted to explain away their misdeeds as the necessary result of his predecessor’s so-called self-coup, it is evident that Mr. Trump is absolutely correct: Right-wing ideology is being relentlessly purged from South Korea.
Yet South Korea is by no means an outlier in international politics. In fact, virtually every nation that has been forced to endure the advent of a left-wing regime over the course of the past decade has vividly oppressed and persecuted right-wing ideology and politics.
Just take Europe, where conservative philosophies are routinely oppressed. Marine Le Pen, president of the National Rally party in France’s National Assembly, was recently and unjustly convicted of embezzlement and barred from running for political office for five years because she is an unabashed populist and a constant vector for right-wing values in France. In Germany, politicians have long hidden behind the country’s infamous Brandmauer (German for “firewall”), refusing to work with any right-wing political parties or values in any capacity in an overt effort to prevent a resurgence of right-wing politics or ideology.
It is now almost impossible in Germany to purchase books by even world-renowned conservative authors because they have been shamefully blacklisted and banned.
In Canada, since the Liberal Party took over in 2015, all right-wing politics and ideology have become openly oppressed. Right-wing political actors such as Sean Feucht and Tamara Lich have been consistently persecuted for their beliefs and denied numerous fundamental human rights, including freedom of expression and religious liberty. As Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau frequently misrepresented populists as some species of crypto-Nazi and attempted to associate all right-wing ideology with the accusations of bigotry and fascism that have been heaped upon Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trudeau’s crusade to outlaw populist ideology and right-wing values was so all-consuming that it compelled him to violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in an effort to oppress the Freedom Convoy during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency.
Meanwhile, Mr. Lee and the DPK have relentlessly oppressed and persecuted all right-wing ideology and politics in South Korea. The DPK has forcibly attempted to preclude South Koreans from exercising their rights to freedom of expression and political assembly in an attempt to censor and eliminate all right-wing ideology from public discourse. Since its victory in South Korea’s tainted election this year, the DPK has brutally persecuted its political opponents and any right-wing political actors.
In fact, the DPK has leveraged its newly minted special counsel to raid the headquarters of its political rivals, the People Power Party, with impunity. It has even started to broach legislation that seeks to dissolve the PPP entirely.
Finally, although Mr. Trump has labored valiantly to destratify American society and reestablish the fundamental liberties of all Americans, right-wing ideology has become openly persecuted in America since the presidencies of Joseph R. Biden and Barack Obama. Since Mr. Trump’s first presidency in 2016, left-wing extremists and groups such as antifa have frequently been permitted to attack Trump supporters and right-wing rallies and events.
In truth, anyone who is an open conservative, never mind an unabashed populist, is under constant threat of violent attack in the U.S.
Mr. Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign was marred by various assassination attempts by deranged leftists intent on “saving” America. These included Thomas Matthew Crooks, a disgruntled left-wing extremist who, in attempting to end the life of the now commander in chief, killed a Trump supporter and severely wounded three others.
Despite being abhorrent, the open persecution of right-wing ideology and politics that has gripped South Korea during Mr. Lee’s regime is by no means abnormal or uncommon within the international political system. Unfortunately, virtually every nation that has been forced to endure the advent of left-wing regimes and politics over the past decade has oppressed and persecuted right-wing ideology and politics in its society.
It’s clear that any person who refuses to worship at the altar of liberalism will inevitably be forced to confront a grim reality: The conservative has become the most openly scorned and oppressed minority of the modern era.
• William Barclay is an award-winning political theorist and policy expert. Follow him on Twitter/X @WillBarclayPCBG.
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