Won Hee-ryong: "Former President Must Apologize Until the People Forgive"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] Won Hee-ryong, Governor of Jeju Province, said on the 10th regarding the public apology of former Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, "We must maintain a sincere attitude of apology until the people forgive and we can completely overcome it."

Governor Won stated on CBS Radio's "Kim Hyun-jung's News Show" that morning, "The impeachment was decided because the president abused power and handed over authority to a private individual named Choi Soon-sil. This means that our entire party, which was responsible for the administration, must bear unlimited responsibility to the people," he said.

Regarding the public apology from the party level by Kim Jong-in, the Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, he said, "There are three types of opinions. Among them, some say, 'What did we do wrong? We should not apologize. Rather, we should apologize to President Park,' but that is a minority," adding, "The majority opinion is that naturally, most of the people were very disappointed at the time and that the people impeached, so an apology is certainly necessary."

Governor Won added, "Here, opinions diverge slightly. Many, like me, believe that we should apologize sincerely and unconditionally to the people without worrying about timing or other factors, while some think that since the ruling party is forcibly passing the Corruption Investigation Office Act, we should focus on fighting the ruling party and that the timing might not be right."

He emphasized, "I fully understand the need to gather more opinions within the party regarding timing, but that is a matter of process, and the decision to apologize or the content of the apology should not change because of that."

Governor Won said, "Unless we overcome the shadow of impeachment, we cannot overcome public hatred. Without reducing public hatred and restoring the lost trust of the people, not only winning elections but the very existence of the party will become extremely difficult," adding, "(The opposition) must have a justification and values for uniting, and the people must be able to support that."

Regarding the timing of the party-level apology, he said, "I heard that Chairman Kim has exchanged opinions with senior lawmakers and has somewhat reduced misunderstandings," adding, "We should get past the biggest hurdle of fighting the ruling party, but it should not extend beyond the new year."

On Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl emerging as a next presidential candidate, Governor Won said, "I believe the people's will to uphold the constitution and democracy is currently manifesting as support for Yoon Seok-youl," adding, "In that respect, he is heading in the same direction as us, and if he can participate in practical politics and fulfill that role, I think we can certainly join hands and embrace him."

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