Won Hee-ryong: "I Will Become Someone Like Baek Jong-won, Please Forget the Old Me"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] As Kim Jong-in, emergency committee chairman of the United Future Party, mentioned Baek Jong-won, CEO of The Born Korea, in relation to the presidential candidate, causing a stir in the party, Won Hee-ryong, governor of Jeju and considered a dark horse in the opposition, expressed his presidential ambitions by saying, "I will become someone like CEO Baek."

On the 24th, in a phone interview with YTN Radio's 'Noh Young-hee's Start of a New Morning,' Governor Won said, "(Chairman Kim's words) should be understood to mean that those who have intentions as presidential candidates should be at least like Baek Jong-won."

He added, "Would Baek Jong-won enter politics? I have met him several times since coming to Jeju, and I will ask him if he plans to go into politics, but he has absolutely no interest in that. If you point to the moon, you should look at the moon, not the finger," and said, "Mentioning Baek Jong-won is to highlight the expectations of the people and his public-friendly nature as a true mentor and strict trainer for self-employed people and young entrepreneurs currently facing difficulties."

When the host asked, "Do you think Governor Won is someone like Baek Jong-won?" he replied, "He should be. Please forget the old Won Hee-ryong. I am changing day by day," and said, "I am engaging more fiercely with on-site issues and the problems of people's livelihoods. The perception that 'he is smart but seems to go alone unnecessarily' is being transformed one by one into 'a smart person who can walk together with our people.'"

Regarding the announcement of the plan to provide the Jeju-type second emergency disaster relief fund, he said, "Those who missed out on the first round were complaining, saying, 'Did I get excluded because of a 1,000 won difference in health insurance?' As a result, the provincial council passed a resolution demanding that the second round be given to all residents, striking the gavel decisively," and added, "If I only thought about my own conviction, I might have said no, but considering cooperation with the council and the province-wide quarantine efforts, I did it out of respect for the council."

He also emphasized that they would prevent 'overpriced lodging fees' during the summer vacation season. He said, "Our urgent survey showed that there was some excessive reporting on special package products. Since demand is so high, there is always a possibility of unreasonable prices appearing, but we will form special teams with the autonomous police and tourism authorities to take strong measures so that all citizens can travel with confidence."

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