Yoon Seok-yeol and Won Hee-ryong Absent from Gyeongjunwi Briefing... "Won't Attend Uncoordinated Briefings"

On the afternoon of the 30th, Yoon Seok-yeol, a presidential pre-candidate, visited the People Power Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, submitted his party membership application to Kwon Young-se, the chairman of the External Cooperation Committee, and then held a Q&A session with reporters.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's camp and former Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong's camp did not attend the debate briefing hosted by the Primary Preparation Committee on the 13th. This was because they had not yet decided whether to attend amid ongoing internal party controversy over whether to hold the debate.

At the debate briefing held at the National Assembly in the afternoon, all other 11 candidates' camps except for former Prosecutor General Yoon and former Governor Won sent representatives. Regarding this, Seo Byung-soo, chairman of the Primary Preparation Committee, told reporters after the briefing, "Former Prosecutor General Yoon's camp has not yet decided whether to attend the debate," and added, "Former Governor Won's camp responded that there is controversy within the party's supreme council, so they would wait a bit."

Kim Byung-min, spokesperson for former Prosecutor General Yoon's camp, announced through the camp's group chat notice that "There are disagreements between the leadership and between the leadership and the Primary Preparation Committee regarding whether to hold the debate hosted by the committee," and stated, "Former Prosecutor General Yoon's camp will not attend today's Primary Preparation Committee briefing, which was not coordinated with the leadership."

Earlier, former Prosecutor General Yoon's and former Governor Won's camps strongly opposed the Primary Preparation Committee's decision to hold debates for presidential pre-candidates on August 18 and 25.

Kim Kyung-jin, special external cooperation advisor for former Prosecutor General Yoon's camp, rebutted on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' in the morning, saying, "I don't understand why the Primary Preparation Committee is trying to push forward forcibly when there's no difference between August 18 and September 10." Former Governor Won also pointed out on Facebook, "I absolutely cannot agree with the arbitrary push of the debate, which has no basis in the party's constitution or regulations and is just the party leader's idea."

Meanwhile, at the briefing, the Primary Preparation Committee, together with representatives of each candidate, conducted a draw to determine the debate order and seating arrangement, and conveyed precautions and requests related to the debate.

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