John Linton, who goes by Ihn Yo-han in Korea, speaks to the Hankyoreh from the headquarters of the People Power Party on Nov. 20, 2023. (Hankyoreh file photo)
John Linton, a former lawmaker for the main opposition People Power Party, was elected head of the Korean Red Cross, a public organization under the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Linton, who goes by Ihn Yo-han in Korea, was a vocal defender of former President Yoon Suk-yeol after his ill-fated declaration of martial law in December 2024.The central committee of the Korean Red Cross said on Monday that Linton’s “years of experience in the medical field make him the right person to lead the Red Cross’ disaster relief work and its cooperation with international humanitarian initiatives.”Assuming that Linton receives the imprimatur of Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who is the Red Cross’ honorary chairman, he will begin a three-year term as the organization’s president.The central committee is composed of nine ex officio members — the organization’s chair (currently vacant) and eight government ministers, including the justice and interior ministers — as well as 19 members elected by an assembly of national delegates.But it’s widely believed in the medical establishment that the central committee’s election of the Red Cross president amounts to a rubber stamp for a decision made at the Blue House.Linton courted controversy by publicly siding with Yoon on several occasions after the martial law declaration.“I’ve seen the Democratic Party acting like a bulldozer in the National Assembly and outdoing Chun Doo-hwan in its politicking. So in my heart, I understand Yoon,” he said in an interview with the press in February 2025.In October, Linton questioned whether “having a former president behind bars benefits the nation’s prestige” and said that Yoon “ought to be at home.”When he resigned from his proportional seat in the National Assembly that December, he only said he would “return to [his] original vocation and seek to contribute to national unity and development” without expressing his stance on Yoon’s insurrection.But on Wednesday, after his election as Red Cross president, Linton told the Hankyoreh that he’s “remorseful and regretful for not opposing the martial law declaration.”“Giving up my seat in the National Assembly was me expressing a position on the martial law declaration through my deeds,” he said.Linton’s belated remarks appear aimed at heading off growing opposition to his appointment in civic society and the ruling Democratic Party.Furthermore, Linton is a leading proponent of the privatization of healthcare. He has opined that Korea’s National Health Insurance Service is “highly socialist in nature” and advocated the adoption of private health insurance and for-profit hospitals.Nonprofits in the health sector and other areas, the Rebuilding Korea Party, and the progressive Jinbo Party are all pushing for the president to block Linton’s appointment.Lee has espoused the principles of unity and pragmatism and promised to appoint center-right figures of demonstrated talent without insisting on political affiliation. But it’s doubtful whether that obliges the president to appoint a figure who defended the insurrection and demanded the release of the insurrectionist, a figure who is himself at odds with Lee’s governing philosophy.Seeking unity and expanding the base are important, but appointments must abide by boundaries that preserve democratic values and this administration’s governing principles if they’re to satisfy not only Lee’s base but the public as a whole.Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
