Lee Geun-hyung "Yu Si-min, reconsider stopping criticism... I understand the sincerity behind the '180 seats remark'"

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] On the 18th, Lee Geun-hyeong, former Strategic Planning Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, addressed Yoo Si-min, director of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, who sparked controversy with his remark predicting '180 seats for the pan-progressive bloc' just before the April 15 general election, saying, "If your decision to stop political commentary is due to this controversy, please reconsider."

On the same day, Lee posted an article titled 'Wrapping up 180' on his Facebook, stating, "I understand Yoo Si-min's feelings well. His sincerity and hopes might have been slightly expressed in a light context," expressing his thoughts.

Earlier, on the 10th, Director Yoo said on the YouTube broadcast 'Alileo,' "It is not impossible to have 180 seats for the pan-progressive bloc including proportional representation seats," which drew criticism from both ruling and opposition parties. Subsequently, on the 15th during KBS's general election vote count broadcast, he announced, "I am now planning to stop political commentary."

Lee, who stepped down from his position as Strategic Planning Committee Chairman on the 16th, said, "I actually suffered a bit of a loss because of that 180-seat remark," implying that some candidates in closely contested districts were defeated due to Yoo's statement.

In response, on the 17th's 'Alileo' YouTube broadcast, Yoo accepted criticism from the Democratic Party side, apologizing to the defeated Democratic candidates Kim Young-choon (Busan Busanjin-gu Gap), Park Soo-hyun (Chungnam Gongju-Buyeo-Cheongyang), and Nam Young-hee (Incheon Dong-gu-Michuhol-eul), saying, "I am sorry."

Lee further stated, "Three days before the election, in a situation as delicate as handling a glass vessel, it was indeed somewhat embarrassing when conservative media and opposition parties used the 'hope for 180 pan-progressive seats' remark as bait for their argument to secure a 'constitutional amendment blocking line'."

Nevertheless, he added, "If there had been shared understanding of the situation and goals, or even small communication, such a situation would not have occurred," and evaluated, "Although I am not a Democratic Party member, it is hard to measure the extent of help Director Yoo has given to our entire camp and party."

Lee said, "I felt relieved after the election ended, but my heart is uneasy," and emphasized, "Neither I personally nor any Democratic Party leadership I know holds anything but gratitude toward Director Yoo, not even a slight feeling of resentment," urging him again to reconsider stopping political commentary.

He concluded, "180! It is overwhelming and even frightening," adding, "The people have entrusted the Democratic Party and the Moon Jae-in administration with a burden and responsibility that is almost too heavy," and said, "I hope we can now only discuss the future together."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.