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Joo Ho-young, Floor Leader of the United Future Party / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the United Future Party, distanced himself from some hardline conservative forces who participated in the Liberation Day rally. Floor leader Joo stated, "Those who are called far-right in society or parties are different from us."

On the 25th, Joo appeared on KBS Radio's 'Kim Kyung-rae's Strongest Current Affairs' and said, "There is a tendency for the general public to lump together the far-right and the United Future Party."

He continued, "Because of claims that do not align with the general public sentiment, our entire party is perceived as having people with such thoughts, which undoubtedly makes it difficult for some to support us easily. Big data analysis advises that we must clearly state our opposition to such ideas so that moderate voters can comfortably support the United Future Party," he explained. He added, "I think we should set the party's direction according to experts' advice."

Regarding the hardline conservative group-led rally held in Gwanghwamun on the 15th, he expressed frustration, saying, "We (the United Future Party) neither hosted the rally, encouraged participation, nor gave speeches," and claimed, "The Democratic Party of Korea is desperately trying to link us with the rally as they failed in COVID-19 prevention and their approval ratings have been surpassed."

Floor leader Joo emphasized, "We did not condone the rally at all, and we have criticized it as undesirable due to the high risk of mass COVID-19 infection and believe responsibility should be held, but the Democratic Party is forcibly trying to associate us with it."

He also argued that the government is responsible for the resurgence of COVID-19. He said, "Confirmed cases began to increase rapidly from the 12th, and considering the incubation period, there was a mass infection earlier," adding, "The government made people complacent by issuing dining coupons, designating temporary holidays, and lifting bans on small church gatherings, which contributed significantly to the mass spread."

He further pointed out, "They are repeatedly trying to evade responsibility by saying things like 'mass spread is happening because people gathered at the Liberation Day rally' and 'the United Future Party is involved'."

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