North Korean cheerleaders wear masks of a man's face during the North-South joint women's hockey team game at Kwandong Hockey Centre in Gangneung, Saturday. The masks drew controversy as the face resembles North Korean founder Kim Il-sung in his youth. However, the Unification Ministry explained the masks featured the face of a North Korean actor. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul



Unification ministry denies allegation cheerleaders used cheergear to promote regime



By Kang Hyun-kyung



North Korean cheerleaders' cheer gear at the Kwandong Hockey Centre in the eastern city of Gangneung on Saturday has stirred up a controversy about the North's alleged use of the Olympics to advocate their regime.



One hundred North Korean cheerleaders chanted for Team Korea by using various cheer gear during the late night game against Switzerland.



The piece of gear at the center of the controversy was a mask featuring the image of a tidy young man with short hair.



The cheer gear fueled speculation about whether it was part of North Koreans' propaganda efforts to justify the repressive regime.



Some media outlets speculated the image in the mask appeared to be a portrait of North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung when he was young and the cheerleaders tried to promote him during the Olympics.



Kim, who died of heart disease in 1994, is the grandfather of the current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.



The allegation about the cheer gear has spread fast online and stirred up the South Korean public.



Some angry internet users filed online petitions on the presidential website to urge Cheong Wa Dae to clarify their stance about the cheer gear.



In one of the petitions, an internet user demanded President Moon Jae-in comment on the North Koreans' use of the alleged propaganda cheer gear in front of him.



President Moon, his wife and Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, watched the hockey game behind the North Korean cheerleaders. Seated near them also watching the game were the North Korean leader's sister Kim Yo-jong and its nominal head Kim Yong-nam.



"I would like to know what President Moon thinks about the cheer gear featuring the image of Kim Il-sung," the petition read. Over 50 people have signed the petition. Several other petitions about the cheer gear were also filed and called for the presidential office to take necessary measures.



The Ministry of Unification said the image in the cheer gear is not that of Kim Il-sung. In a press release that came late Saturday night, the ministry said it checked with the North Korean cheerleaders about the issue and found it's not about the late Kim. According to the ministry, North Koreans are not allowed to use portraits of their leaders for cheer gear.



Hyun In-ae, a North Korean defector who graduated from Kim Il-Sung University, also denied the allegation that the cheergear is in the image of the late North Korean leader. "In North Korea, it's unthinkable to use the portrait of the late Kim or that of his son Jong-il (who died of heart failure in 2011) for cheergear," she said. "They are perceived by North Koreans as great leaders and the public admires them. So their portraits will never be allowed for use for such a purpose."



Despite the clarification, the controversy showed no signs of abating. The words "Kim Il-sung mask" have topped the nation's largest internet portal Naver since Saturday night after Team Korea lost their Olympic debut game against Switzerland.