On the 65th birthday on the 18th, Yoon Suk-yeol, the former president, said in a "Christmas message to the youth" to young people who support him, "My wife and I do not have children. So you feel like children to me."
In a message delivered that day through Bae Ui-cheol, one of the attorneys on the defense team, the former president said, "One reason I put everything on the line and declared a state of emergency is the urgency that we must pass on a proper country to our children," making this claim.
The former president said, "Jesus said, 'Love your neighbor as yourself,'" and added, "When another person's freedom is trampled, fighting together is love for one's neighbor, and as countless neighbors gather to form one nation, 'love for one's neighbor is love for the nation (aeguk).'"
He continued, "I am reassured and grateful for the practice of 'love for one's neighbor' and 'love for the nation' by young people who have awakened and risen to defend freedom, justice and sovereignty," adding, "I am in the suffering of imprisonment, but Korea has gained hope shown by the youth."
The former president said, "I earnestly pray to God that the grace of Christmas will rest on every step you take, that you will above all be healthy, and that your beautiful dreams will come true," adding, "Young people who do not remain silent in the face of injustice and unrighteousness are the disciples of Jesus in this era."
Attorney Bae explained that he wrote down what the former president said during a meeting that day. He said, "Today is the president's 65th birthday," adding, "Nevertheless, the president asked that a Christmas message be delivered as he prays in prison for the young people."